Cause and Effect
by Jessa4865
Summary: Jack takes a little trip, meddles with cause and effect, and thoroughly confuses himself along the way. SJ, of course! COMPLETE
1. Chapter One

Cause and Effect

by Jessa

Spoilers: Anything's fair game through Season 8

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I'm just taking them out for some fun. I'll put them back when I'm done. Promise.

Summary: Jack takes a little trip, meddles with cause and effect, and thoroughly confuses himself along the way.

SamJack, of course.

Prologue

It was one of those rare, quiet days around the SGC. For once, Jack wasn't seeing to any particular crisis - all the normal, daily business stuff occurred without incident, right down to the three hundred and seventy-five boxes of Bic pens that arrived on time thankfully staving off the panic that would unfold if no one had any pens. Jack had actually been concerned for a while there, for fear he'd have to reveal the supposedly secret stash of pens that Daniel had been accruing for years. Of course, if Daniel were to share his stash, Jack was fairly certain they'd have enough pens to last for the next fifty years.

Free of the easily avoided pen shortage, Jack spent the day in his office, absolutely not working on any of the million pieces of paperwork he needed to work on. He saw no point in ruining such a perfectly relaxing day with paperwork that was bound to frustrate him.

An hour or so after lunch, Jack grew tired of staring at the walls in his office. Fearing such a thought would prompt the universe to do something to mess up his day, he decided to go for a walk. Naturally, he wound up in the doorway to Carter's lab. Daniel was already there, as he usually was whenever Jack found himself inexplicably drawn to that room. Teal'c had obviously just arrived and was making himself comfortable on the stool next to Carter's. His three friends looked up simultaneously and smiled. It was times like that when he wondered if Urgo had really been removed from their brains or if he had simply chosen to hide except for those random times when all four of them had the same thought at the same time.

Or maybe they had really just spent far too much time together.

Of course, he thought to himself as he returned the smile Carter offered him, it was physically impossible to spend too much time with her.

Daniel was usually the one to start the conversation because he was always the one who had at least a dozen philosophical conversation topics at the ready. Jack was fairly certain he wrote them on index cards and had them organized in a little card file so that he would never be at a loss for words. His topic that day was fate - how things had worked out the way they had, if that was the way they were supposed to, if things were predetermined or if people had the power to affect things on the grander scale.

Jack leaned on the counter a few feet behind Carter, content to just listen for a while. Jack knew Carter would immediately dismiss the idea of fate. She'd quote some law of physics from some obscure scientist that would shatter Daniel's theory. Daniel and Carter would argue it for twenty or so minutes, intriguing Teal'c and confusing Jack, until the conversation became heated. Then Teal'c would jump in with something that no one would be sure was serious. Jack would follow that up with something seemingly idiotic that Carter would undoubtedly attribute to some brilliant flash of insight. Then pretty much everyone would agree that something someone else had said was at least partially accurate. That would be Jack's cue to bring up dessert and they'd all head off for Jell-o and pie.

Yes, he had the whole thing planned out in the amount of time it took Daniel to finish his original thought.

But that time was different. Instead of ranting about molecules and atoms and energy and uncertainty, Carter smiled enigmatically and said she was fairly certain things happened exactly the way they were supposed to.

Jack wasn't the only one who was surprised. The three men stared blankly at Carter, trying to figure out what to say. They all thought they knew her better than that.

Daniel was the first to recover, putting forth the versions of her in the alternate realities. They hadn't joined the military, he said, so did that mean she wasn't supposed to join the military either. Carter didn't hesitate before pointing out that obviously not joining the military had been how their realities were supposed to go. Teal'c jumped in unexpectedly, asking it that meant she too was supposed to be married to Jack. Jack squirmed uncomfortably, feeling the embarrassment that Carter refused to show. She repeated her statement, claiming that was the way it was supposed to go for them.

The thought came to Jack quicker than he would have expected, especially since it wasn't a flippant remark designed to make everyone think he wasn't paying attention. "So then we were supposed to find the time machine, go back and change history, and then make it so we didn't have to go back in time and change history?"

Teal'c and Daniel stared in disbelief at Jack for having asked a serious question. Carter twisted slightly to face him. "If you go back in time and change something, who's to say that it wasn't meant to be changed?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, content that he'd finally succeeded in getting her to contradict herself. "But I thought we weren't supposed to change things. Whatever happened to preserving the timeline?"

Rather than bumble through some scientific explanation that was meant to hide the fact that she was mistaken, she grinned like she'd planned the whole thing. "What ifthe act of changing something is preserving the timeline, in and of itself?"

The room fell silent for a moment until Daniel cleared his throat. "So, cake, anyone?" Teal'c nodded and led the way to the commissary.

The group only made it as far as the elevator before Daniel started in on Carter and why destiny should have different ideas for her in different realities. He once again held up the example of her military career, which seemed so innate to her and had seemed repugnant to the other versions of her.

Carter was much calmer than she usually was when she was being challenged and Jack wondered to himself if that was because she thought she was meant to be challenged. She shrugged. "I think those other timelines were aberrations. Mistakes, really. Think about it, those two realities we encountered were basically this one, but horribly wrong. Millions of people were dead. Teal'c served Apophis. You never joined the program. Most of the people we know, including ourselves, died. It's obvious that this reality is the way it was supposed to go."

Daniel shook his head emphatically. "But this reality was wrong to them."

Carter grinned. "And now they're dead. Proves my point rather effectively."

Jack chuckled to himself and rejoined the conversation as the heckler he normally was. "Screw with fate and die!"

Daniel glared. Teal'c smiled. Carter giggled. "Exactly, sir."

Daniel was growing frustrated with Carter because she was uncharacteristically arguing without any sort of proof whatsoever. "But that doesn't make any sense. If things are destined to happen, why don't they always happen the same way? Why didn't we all die anyway? Why did you join the military?"

The elevator doors had opened, but the group hadn't gotten more than a few feet beyond them. Carter turned around and smiled happily at Daniel. The gleam in her eyes made it clear that she was going to decisively win the argument. "Because this timeline was changed." She had the unwavering attention of her friends and she turned away with renewed interest in Jell-O.

Daniel turned to Jack. "How does she know?"

Jack shrugged. "The fish?"

Teal'c contemplated Carter's back as she walked away. "She does seem quite convinced that what she's saying is correct."

Jack started down the hallway behind her. "Doesn't she always?" In his experience, it was a rare occasion that Carter wasn't absolutely committed to what she was claiming.

"Indeed, O'Neill, however I believe this time it is different."

Daniel nodded. "I think you're right, Teal'c." He practically ran down the hall to catch up with Carter, insisting that she explain herself.

She resisted his barrage of inquiries as she ate. It was as she scraped the last remnants of Jell-O from the bottom of the dish that she finally looked back at him. There was no gleam of impending victory, only a content smile. "Because I remember something that hasn't happened yet. And that something made the difference between this reality and those other ones."

That time when Carter walked away, the guys were all too dumbfounded to follow her.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Being in command of the SGC wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Not that Hammond had ever made Jack think it was that great. And it wasn't like Jack had been given a choice in the matter either. No one had asked him if he wanted to sit in a six foot square office all day and push papers. Had someone asked, Jack would have told them, in no uncertain terms, to go to hell. Jack loved going through the Stargate. He loved going on missions, even the boring ones where he spent entire days sitting on rocks while watching Carter and Daniel's faces light up over absolutely nothing of any actual value as far as he could tell.

He'd never admit it to anyone, but, yes, he even missed those rainy planets and the sandy ruins and, God forbid, even the damn trees.

The part he truly hated about being in charge was that he still had to sit through those ever-loving lectures which still bored the crap out of him and he didn't get to accompany his team into the field as a reward. And regardless of how many teams he was responsible for, SG-1 would always be his team.

He was fairly certain his team knew that. Teal'c never said anything, but Jack knew he missed the camaraderie of a person who was a soldier first, and a scientist not at all. Daniel was forever marching into his office with artifacts that were meant to be fascinating and Jack appreciated his friend's attempt to include him. But it was Carter who always found a way to cheer him up. While Jack could count on one hand the number of times General Hammond had been required to accompany any SG team, Carter was continually stumbling across races that would only talk to the leader of their facility, and usually, only in person. The first couple of times, Jack was actually annoyed, thinking that she was needlessly putting him in a diplomatic situation that she ought to know would end badly. But after a few pointless trips, Jack recognized it for what it was - her entirely successful way to keep him involved and to allow him to continue to make fairly regular trips off-world.

The best thing about it was that she could pull it off with a completely straight face, never once giving in to what had to be an almost unbearable urge to laugh at the complete bullshit she was telling him.

It had been almost two months since the last time Carter had managed to come up with a mission for him. All the time on earth without a break was getting to him and he was particularly grumpy in their early morning briefing. Daniel was standing at the head of the conference table, prattling on endlessly about the wealth of information that could be learned about some ancient culture from some ancient something or other. Jack's mind wandered more freely than it had when he was in command of SG-1 because he figured it wouldn't matter so much since he wasn't going. The first thing that occurred to him was that he was in charge and therefore could insist that no one schedule any more meetings before the sun came up. He made a mental note to reschedule all briefings for after lunch whenever possible.

He glanced to his right and saw Teal'c, sitting with his eyes closed. Teal'c's attention was infinitely more important than his own, so he nudged his friend's chair, earning a sharp glare from Teal'c. Confident that Teal'c was going to listen from that point on, Jack's eye strayed to Carter. She wasn't even pretending to pay attention. The photos that Daniel had handed her, meaning for her to pass them around, were still lying abandoned next to her notepad. She had some sort of reference book in front of her, which Jack could tell from the fairly complex diagrams had absolutely nothing to do with anything ancient whatsoever. She was scribbling frantically, checking the book, flipping pages, and scribbling again. At one point, she looked up and caught Jack's eye.

Normally, when she caught him staring, which was far more often than a CO really should be caught staring at anyone, she would glare at him or smile with a blush spreading across her cheeks, depending on whether or not they had an audience. But Carter didn't look angry or curious. She looked perplexed. Worried, too. Jack wanted to interrupt Daniel to ask her what was wrong, but he didn't want to call Daniel's attention to the fact that no one was paying him any attention.

Carter bit her bottom lip and dropped her pen. She rested her elbow on the table and dropped her chin in her hand, all the while looking thoroughly confused. There was nothing more upsetting in the world to Jack than a confused Samantha Carter. If someone with a brain as big and as quick as hers was confused, he figured, something was very wrong. After a long moment where Jack was sure his heart had stopped beating, understanding dawned on Carter's face, accompanied by a wide smile. She turned to a blank page in her notebook and started writing once again.

She didn't look up when Daniel switched on the lights, nor when he leaned over her shoulder to see what she was writing.

"Sam, I know you're adept at shorthand, but that doesn't look like notes on my lecture." He paused, undaunted by the fact that she didn't even acknowledge his comment. He grabbed the book out from under her pen and held it up to inspect it. "It looks suspiciously like physics equations to me."

Annoyed, Carter grabbed the notebook back. "You wouldn't know physics equations if you tripped over them."

Jack didn't want the conversation to degenerate into a fight before they were leaving on a mission. "Ok, kids, do I have to put you in time out?"

"Sorry, sir."

"So, Jack, yes, no?" Daniel had forgotten the disagreement that quickly, but Jack hadn't kept up with him.

"About what?"

"The mission."

Jack waved his hand as if to say he knew that. "Of course you can go. I wouldn't have let you lecture us for two hours if I didn't intend to let you go."

Carter looked up with her mouth hanging open. "Sir, you can't possibly mean that! Did you hear anything he said?"

As her CO, he should have reprimanded her for the tone she used, but he was just too busy enjoying seeing her flustered. Rather than lie, he shifted the focus off of himself. "Did you? Or were you too busy with your equations over there?"

Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit as she offered him a tight, forced smile. "Of course I listened, sir. That's how I know this is a wild goose chase that will involve lots and lots of sand."

Feeling guilty for not knowing that, Jack smiled apologetically. "Tell you what, Carter, when you come back, I'll give you a whole week off and you can spend the entire time doing math."

"I'll probably spend the entire time washing sand out of my -"

Jack got up and walked away before he could conjure up any more images of Carter washing anything off anywhere.

Unfortunately, he didn't even get across the room before Carter caught up with him.

"Uh, sir?"

He allowed himself to gloat for a moment that she was going to be uncomfortable on the planet since she was making him uncomfortable. Of course, he immediately felt guilty. "What, Carter?"

She looked around nervously, obviously afraid someone might be eavesdropping. "Do you have a minute?"

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head, assuming he was missing something since he was obviously already giving her a minute. "You mean besides this one?"

She glanced around again and seemed no more pleased with their surroundings. Her eyes fell on his office and she inclined her head toward it. "Can I speak with you in private, sir?"

"There's no one else here, Carter. This is private." As he grumbled, though, he led the way into his office. He took his place behind his desk while she took her customary place across from him. "Ok, what?"

She got up suddenly and closed the door before retaking her seat. "Um, sir?"

His eyes darted toward the door and the suddenly frazzled colonel in front of him. He started to feel very, very nervous about whatever she was up to. "Yes, Carter?" His eyes darted back and forth between the two doors to his office, passing over Carter in the process. He needed to keep his eyes on whichever door was closer in case she was going to go insane - she was certainly acting like she was well on her way there.

She stared at him blankly for a long time before her eyes slowly clouded with anger. "You have no idea why I might want to talk to you? Can't think of any reason?"

Jack looked down at his desk, hoping something might jump out at him that she'd asked him to do. Nothing did, naturally, so he met her eyes and shook his head. "Not a clue, Carter."

She shook her head angrily. "Never mind, sir." She stood up and turned toward the door.

Upset that she was angry at him for something he couldn't remember doing, he jumped up and blocked her path to the door. "Carter-"

She didn't hesitate for a second to make for the other door. He reached out and grabbed her arm lightly to hold her still. He moved in front of her then and she avoided his eyes. "Excuse me, sir, I have work to do before the mission."

"Consider the mission postponed until you tell me what's going on."

She yanked her arm out of his grasp and surprised him with just how dark her expression could turn without warning. "What the hell was that about?"

"What was what about?" He tried to think over the things he'd said during the briefing. Sure, she hadn't wanted to go, but she'd never called him on a decision like that before.

"Last night. You want to explain that to me?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "No, actually, I understood last night, it's this morning that I need some help with."

He understood why she'd been so paranoid about people overhearing and he was glad she had been. He didn't know what she was referring to, but had anyone overheard, they never would have believed it. "Carter, I'm going to say this once: I have no idea what you're talking about." He held her eyes as he spoke, wondering what she thought had happened to make her so angry.

The anger faded away after a moment. "I'm sorry, sir, I must have been mistaken. If you'll excuse me." Her anger hadn't faded away at all; she'd simply hidden it behind her military training. She tried to step around him, but he caught her arm again.

"No, I won't excuse you. I want to know what you're talking about."

She looked him straight in the eye when she responded. "I was obviously mistaken, sir. I apologize."

He knew she didn't believe for one second that she'd made a mistake, but he also knew she wasn't about to tell him. "Look, do I have some sort of clone out there I should be warning people about?"

Her eyes shifted to the side and she looked deep in thought. After a minute of thinking, she slowly shook her head. "No, sir, don't worry about it." She smiled at him apologetically and he believed the smile was real.

It was hard to stay tense with her smiling at him so he shrugged. "Ok, then, glad I could help." He went back to his desk and she headed for the door. He pretended not to notice that she paused to look back at him. He figured it was better that way. He was afraid she'd finally flipped. There'd been an article in some magazine he read once that mentioned an inexplicable link between genius and insanity. Carter was certainly a genius and he was afraid to consider that the article might have been right. He wound up staring at the door she'd disappeared through and wondering if he should record the distinctly odd behavior she'd been exhibiting all morning - not listening to Daniel, snapping at him for agreeing to the mission, confronting him about something that hadn't happened, and then pretending like everything was just fine. He was definitely sending her home for a few days when she got back. She needed the rest.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

That was the last he saw of her until she was scheduled to leave. Teal'c and Daniel were standing at the base of the ramp, ready to go. Daniel was chomping at the bit, pacing excitedly. Although Teal'c had no particular desire to get to their destination, he seemed pleased to be going somewhere. He never liked hanging around the base for long. Jack was standing in the control room, staring down at his team, well, half of it, and once again wondering if he could get demoted and back on SG-1.

Daniel glanced up at the window. "Sam, come on! You're late!" His voice held the whiny, grating tone of a child.

Jack turned to the right and watched as Carter continued pressing buttons frantically. She sped up slightly at Daniel's words. Jack raised an eyebrow, but the expression was missed by her entirely. "Uh, Carter? You sitting this one out?" He hadn't seen her that worried about timing since…

"Solar flares, sir."

"Oh, well, then, take your time. You do not have my permission to go mucking around in time without me." He smiled at her as he reached for the intercom. "Daniel, give her a minute."

Daniel folded his arms over his chest, but he didn't argue. Jack decided it was for the best that neither he nor Sam heard whatever it was that Daniel muttered which caused Teal'c to look up at the control room.

Carter was once again scribbling on her notepad and, even though pretty much all equations looked the same to him, he was pretty sure it was the same page she'd been writing on in the briefing. She stood up and faced him. "I'm finished, sir." Tearing two pages out of the notebook, she stuffed one in her pocket before carefully folding the other and placing it in an envelope. "Sir, would you mind, leaving this on my desk?"

Jack opened his mouth to suggest that she order one of the other people in the room to do it, but at the sight of her tongue jutting out of her mouth to lick the envelope, he couldn't think of a single good reason to argue with her. "Yeah, ok."

"Thank you, sir." She headed for the stairs, jogging the short distance. Jack knew she wasn't kidding about the timing, which is why it threw him when she paused to glance back at him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"Good luck, Carter." His eyes met hers and, as was usually the case when their eyes met, the rest of the room faded away. There were so many things he thought she deserved to hear, things he wanted to tell her, but they always had to settle for the occasional heated stare. He fought the familiar urge to close the distance between them and pull her into an embrace. He gathered strength from the fact that he was pretty sure she was fighting the same urge. He nodded toward the gate room. "Better hurry before Daniel has a coronary."

She nodded with a smile. "Yes, sir." She turned and darted down the stairs. She didn't look back again as the three active members of SG-1 headed up the ramp. Jack could hear Daniel's excited voice rambling on about something as he stepped through the gate. He watched as Carter and Teal'c looked at each other, probably rolling their eyes at one another as they followed. Jack smiled to himself as he headed for Carter's lab with the envelope she'd given him.

Three hours passed while Jack worked. He missed his friends whenever they were off-world, but he was actually able to get more work done when they weren't around. When they were there, he inevitably got distracted as it was far more enjoyable to talk to them about anything than it was to actually work. He was proud of himself for the rhythm he'd found. Closing another file and tossing it in the finished pile, he cursed as the unscheduled off-world activation disrupted the peace in his office.

He reluctantly stood up and headed for the control room, just as SG-1's signal was recognized. He ordered security to the gate room, fearing something terrible had gone wrong to warrant their quick return. But it was only a radio signal that was being sent through. Thesignal was fed through the monitors in the control room and within seconds Jack was looking up into the faces of Carter and Daniel. They were squinting from the bright sunshine, but appeared uninjured.

"What's going on, Colonel?" He kept his voice even to hide the relief he felt that they were all right.

"Well, sir, the UAV data that indicated this planet was uninhabited was wrong. The natives are friendly enough, but they won't let us near the ruins without discussing trade first."

"Then discuss away." He wasn't entirely sure why he was being consulted for such a mundane issue, but he suspected it was just because they missed him on missions.

Carter glanced at Daniel. "Sir, I tried, but they absolutely will not discuss anything not related to child-rearing with a woman." She looked positively disgusted, but Jack couldn't help the snicker that escaped. He'd be hard pressed to find someone less qualified to discuss child-rearing. "They want to talk to our leader." Daniel tried to hide his own snicker, as did Carter, but they were standing a foot away from the camera on the MALP. "That would be you, sir."

"That would be me, Carter." He figured she was just trying to pull off one of her secret missions to get him off-world again and he felt he should offer at least token resistance. "Did you consider telling them that Daniel is your leader? He's good at that negotiation stuff."

Daniel winced. "Jack, I kind of already introduced Sam as the one in charge of SG-1, so they're not going to buy it."

Content that no one could see it, Jack let his lips curve up into a smile. "Ok, what am I walking into?"

Daniel launched into a mini-lecture on their customs, at least as far as he'd been able to gather in three hours. Jack's eyes glazed over, until the word 'arrows' popped into the conversation.

"Arrows, Daniel? Exactly how advanced are these people?"

Carter hid her laugh behind a cough. Daniel winced again. "I believe the question would be more appropriate if it contained the word primitive. And the answer is very."

Jack closed his eyes, thankful that Daniel was far, far away from him at the moment. He wanted to strangle someone. "Then why are we discussing trade? I see no need for arrows to be added to the list of standard issue SGC equipment."

"Because I want to get a look at those ruins, Jack. Anything you offer will impress them. Hell, Jack, they were amazed by Sam's flashlight."

He let out a sigh that he thought impressively covered how giddy he was at the idea of going. "Fine. Give me a few minutes."

He was just turning away from the monitor when Carter's voice continued. "Sir, because of the solar activity, you're going to have to time it just right. I've done some rough calculations here and there's a window of three minutes that will greatly reduce the chance of any temporal displacement."

With a sigh that wasn't at all fake, Jack turned back to the monitor, suddenly very grateful that Carter couldn't see the look on his face. He was so not happy about getting both an archeology and an astrophysics lecture in the same day. Jack looked at one of the gate technicians and asked him to take notes. Carter heard him, of course, and glared at the camera for a second. Then she continued with her explanation.

It felt like two hours later when she finally stopped talking. "That's about it, sir."

His eyes widened. "You sure? I'm sure we can get a tape recorder in here if you want to keep going." He waited for another glare from her. "I got it, Carter. I'll time it exactly and I'll see you in a few."

Carter stared into the camera for a moment and then she nodded. "I'm not kidding, sir."

"Got it, Carter. So does trusty Sergeant-" He leaned over to see the name of the man who was still desperately scribbling notes on what Carter had said. "Thomas. If something goes wrong, you make sure you court martial his ass when you get back."

Sergeant Thomas looked up, sheer panic on his face. Before he could say anything, Jack smiled. "I was kidding, Sergeant." The man didn't look at all relieved.

"I'm not, sir. Timing. Exact. Got it?" She waited a beat before adding 'sir,' making it clear to everyone around that she was giving her CO an order.

Jack scowled at the monitor. He liked it when she got cheeky, especially when it was in an effort to protect him from winding up on prehistoric earth or something, but it was embarrassing when he was in a room full of people. "Yes, Colonel, I got it."

She ducked her head, accepting the use of her rank as a reprimand. "There's one more thing, sir. If you could bring that envelope I gave you this morning, I'd really appreciate it." Then she looked back at the camera with the same look on her face he'd seen that morning. "Good luck, sir. Carter out." The last image he saw was her hand reaching forward to terminate the connection. The wormhole disengaged and the room started buzzing with normal activity.

Jack somehow managed to make it to the locker room without skipping. He was so excited about going off-world. He wondered if Daniel was helping Carter out with ways to get him off-world. He changed quickly and caught himself humming as he headed for Carter's lab. It didn't even bother him that Carter and Daniel both seemed considerably more testy than normal. He tucked the envelope into his jacket and headed back to the control room.

Sergeant Thomas was not at his post. When Jack asked, one of the other techs pointed to the notes on the chair Thomas had abandoned. Everyone in the room swore Thomas had gone to lunch, but Jack was pretty sure he was just hiding, for fear something would go wrong. Jack couldn't blame him. No one wanted to face Carter's wrath.

Jack picked up the notes and handed them to another sergeant, asking if she could handle it. She looked at the notes and offered to try. Jack ignored the uncertainty in her voice and headed for the gate room. A few seconds later, the wormhole opened and Jack started up the ramp.

"No, sir, not yet!" The sergeant's voice was frantic. She was obviously just as afraid as Thomas.

Jack turned around, starting to feel like he imagined Daniel had that morning. "What's going on up there?"

The sergeant was leaning over to someone else with the notes. "Does that look like a one or a seven?"

Jack turned away, shaking his head. "Oh, what the hell." Without waiting for the go-ahead, he stepped into the wormhole and only bothered at the last second to pray that he hadn't just made a huge mistake.


	4. Chapter Four

_AN: Ok, guys, this is where you'll just have to bear with me with the numbers. If my guestimates are wrong, I hope they're close enough that you can still play along. Enjoy! And thank you to everyone who reviewed previous chapters! Those reviews really mean a lot!_

Chapter Four

She'd warned him. He couldn't deny it. Not even to himself, regardless of how much he desperately wanted to pretend she hadn't so he could blame her for his mistake. No, it was all his fault. He'd ignored her lecture on how very important it was for him to go through the gate at exactly the right time and he'd gotten exactly what he deserved. He remembered the disconcerting feeling of being in two times simultaneously and he decided it was far more upsetting having done it alone.

Daniel wasn't there to rant about how fascinating it would be to studyextinct cultures up close. Teal'c wasn't there to fight beside him if it came to that. And Carter - well, honestly, he just always felt better when she was at his side no matter where, or when incidentally, they were. He sighed to himself and decided it was just as well that she wasn't there at the moment because she would be very, very disappointed in him.

At least they weren't about to test fire a missile this time. As far as he could tell, he'd happened upon one of the few periods of time when the Cheyenne Mountain Complex wasn't being used for some top secret project. The gate room was empty; the control room unmanned. Just as well, it meant fewer questions about who he was and how he'd materialized out of thin air. And as luck would have it, he was in uniform, originally intended to impress those primitive friends ofCarter and Daniel. So none of the scarce airmen who guarded the mostly empty halls thought to bother a general, even if they didn't know who he was.

He was surprised at the ease with which he made it to the surface and borrowed a car from the motor pool. They couldn't possibly have checked his identification too closely or they would have discovered an awful lot of discrepancies. His next stop was a gas station, where he nonchalantly picked up the newspaper. He dared not to look at the date until he said a quick prayer, hoping it had only been a few years, that he'd be able to findCarter in the town and get home. He was still too afraid to look at the date in public; instead he drove to a nice, empty parking lot where he could feel free to freak out about the date without witnesses, just in case it was really, really bad. It was only then that he pulled the paper in front of him and glanced at the date.

He tossed the paper on the seat beside him and hung his head. He'd been hoping for better, but he reasoned eighteen years was better than thirty. His original plan had been to find Carter, hopefully at some point after they'd met so she'd be willing to help him without question. So that was out. At least, as opposed to their trip to 1969,Carter was old enough to talk in 1987.

He knew she was his only option for getting home, since she was undoubtedly as brilliant at 18 as she was at 36. He was willing to take a gamble on her knowing enough without any experience to still be able to help him. He was willing to face her wrath for screwing with the timeline or whatever she'd get mad about when he got home. Hell, he was willing to face her wrath for screwing with the timeline just to see her at 18.

Jack took a deep breath and pointed the car towards the Air Force Academy. He figured it would be pretty easy to get someone there to tell him where to find Carter - he was a general, after all. That ought to carry weight with the cadets. The drive seemed to take forever; Jack blamed it on the fact that he was far more excited to see Carter than he should have been. He couldn't help but recall the conversation about fate. Had she always known, as General Hammond had, that he had approached her for help when she was 18? Was that the reason she'd always been so opposed to time travel? Was his visit to her that memory of something that hadn't happened yet she'd mentioned? Or was he truly changing something by turning to her?

He thought maybe knowing that he'd needed her help was the reason she fought so hard to get on the Stargate program. But he was also afraid that by asking for her help, provided she was truly as concerned with preserving the timeline as she let on, then he might influence her to stay away from the program altogether. Then they would never meet, and he undoubtedly would have been killed years earlier when the earth had been destroyed without her help to stop it. Of course, if he didn't live long enough to go back in time and dissuade her from joining the program, did that then mean that she did join and therefore everything happened just as he remembered it?

That was the point where his head started to hurt. So he stopped thinking about it. He thought back to his own life in 1987. He'd been married. Sara hadn't even been pregnant yet. His first instinct was to wish he could go back, to relive those years, to be a father again. But the longer he thought about it, the more he knew he'd been right when he counseled Malachi to stop the time loop - he couldn't go through losing Charlie again and he would, if Carter was right about things happening the way they were supposed to. As much as he wanted to believe Charlie's fate had been a mistake, the truth was, he couldn't imagine not being a part of the Stargate program, not staying with the Air Force, not having Carter in his life.

He stood beside the car in the parking lot of the Air Force Academy, uncertain of his plan to contact Carter. It waspossible for him to just wait it out, spend a few years fishing at his cabin, until Carter would remember him and then she could send him back. But as much as he loved fishing, he wasn't really sure he wanted to fish for an entire decade. He knew he had no choice besides finding Carter, but he was still nervous. He was sure she was going to be the exact same - just younger - which meant she was going to get very, very angry with him for interfering in her life, for changing their history. The problem with having Carter get mad was that Jack had discovered it was absolutely impossible to win an argument with her unless he ordered her to concede. And he was really hoping to make a good impression on her, which would be difficult to do if he made her angry then ordered her to say he was right.

He found the registrar's office easily and the young cadet working at the desk washad no qualms withgiving him the details of Carter's schedule. Then it only took asking four more cadets along the way before he finally found one who took pity on him and walked him to the door of the physics lab. Jack glanced in the small glass window. He was sure he'd recognize her confident, self-assured, damn near perfect self even with the age difference. There weren't a lot of choices; there was, in fact, no choice. There was only one person in the lab - a person Jack was immediately able to rule out. He grabbed the first cadet who walked by.

"I'm looking for Sam Carter. Samantha. Any idea where I might find her?"

The boy nodded at the window Jack had just looked through. "That's her there, sir."

"Are you kidding?" Jack looked again at the lone figure, trying to reconcile the gawky girl with the Carter he knew. The girl's hair was long and loose, breaking at least one regulation right there. Her blazer was haphazardly hanging off one of the stools. Her uniform blouse was wrinkled and untucked and at least two sizes too big for her.

"Word has it, sir, that if she weren't a general's daughter, she'd have been expelled as soon as she got here." The boy's tone was conspiratorial, as though he thought he was winning points by putting Carter down. After a few pointed minutes of silence, the boy realized Jack wasn't impressed. "I'm late for a class, sir." He saluted dutifully.

Jack glared at him, offering a few words of advice as he darted down the hall. "You need to learn a little something about teamwork, cadet!" Even as the boy scrambled away, Jack had to admit Carter wasn't exactly officer material yet. She wasn't really Carter at that point; she was just Sam. He thought about knocking, but changed his mind quickly. Whether or not she was the perfect cadet, she would definitely jump at the sight of a general. He wanted to enjoy the short time he had to observe her. It was a rare opportunity to see Sam before she was polished and put-together, when she was as awkward and unsure of herself as he normally felt. He slipped through the door quietly, careful to make no noise. It wouldn't have mattered if he'd slammed the door; she wouldn't have heard anyway. She was sobbing, whining hysterically into the phone that was hidden behind far more hair than he could ever believe Sam having. Her voice was so distraught that he wanted to comfort her, but her words stopped him in his tracks.

"I can't do it, Daddy. I hate it here. I want to come home. Please!" She stopped, probably to be chastised.

His blood ran cold at the thought. If she quit, nothing good would come of it.

"But, Daddy, they're mean! I hate them. Please let me come home!"

At that moment, he absolutely hated Jacob Carter. His daughter was crying, sobbing, pleading with him to come home and Jacob's 'no' was loud enough for Jack to hear across the room. Of course, he knew if Jacob relented, the future of the world - hell, the whole universe, would be dim. Not to mention Jack's very own personal hell without knowing Samantha Carter.

"Daddy, please! Wait - no -don't-" Her words cut off as she stared disbelievingly at the phone. Jack couldn't believe it either - that Jacob would ever be so cruel as to hang up on his daughter. Jack fought his instincts to close the distance between them and wrap young Sam in a hug. He managed to hold back because she would probably not welcome such a move from a strange man who was, for the moment at least, thirty years older than her. Instead he cleared his throat, not enjoying the terrified shock on Sam's face. Yes, it was definitely the same Sam, but thankfully, he didn't often see her looking like such a wreck. That would not be good for his emotional well-being. He watched her drop the phone and hop off the stool she'd been perched on. Her movement stopped there; she froze, almost comically. Jack could tell she wasn't sure what to do first - wipe at the tears, pull herself together, or salute him. He took pity on her and reached for the door.

"Let's try this again. I'm going to go back out to the hall for a minute. You square yourself away in the meantime, deal?" He waited for her nod before he turned away. He stood in the hallway longer than he figured he needed to, just to be sure he wouldn't upset her by coming back too quickly.

She was ready for him when he returned, already standing at attention. He couldn't help but smile warmly at her. She still looked like she needed a hug. Her eyes were still red. But the moment he met her eyes, he felt the familiar rush - the warmth, the comfort, the unspoken love. Strangely enough, she seemed to feel it too - he noticed her relax the slightest bit. His smile turned into a chuckle that he couldn't suppress. Sam looked offended, then unsure, and then just curious. He'd always wondered if she'd felt their connection when they'd first met or if it had just been wishful thinking on his part. He finally had his answer. The knowledge caught him off-guard and he found himself unable to explain his laugh. He knew he didn't have to - not with his rank, but he felt guilty for the complex he was probably giving her just standing there and laughing.

"General O'Neill, how can Cadet Carter be of assistance?"

Her question only served to make him laugh again - she was politely asking what the hell he was doing there. He shook his head as he sat down on the stool next to the one she'd abandoned. "For crying out loud, Carter, at ease. First thing you can do is stop talking like that. It just confuses me." He watched as she folded her arms stifly behind her. "Sit, Carter, and don't you ever mistake me for one of those stuffed-shirt, follow-the-regs type officers, got it?"

Sam obediently sat down on her stool; her hands clasped nervously in her lap. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." She looked scared. She averted her eyes, but periodically she would glance up, catch his eye, and look away again. Repeatedly.

It was making him nervous. "What, Carter?"

Judging from the blush that spread across her cheeks and down her neck, he knew whatever she was thinking had nothing to do with regulations or her current crisis. He was flattered - embarrassed - but flattered. It answered yet another one of those questions he had about her - if she was really attracted to him or if her feelings had simply grown out of friendship. But there he was, nearly fifty years old, and a beautiful, brilliant 18-year-old was sneaking glances at him.

Sam took a deep breath and looked back at him. "Did my father send you?"

"That would have been awfully fast for me to get here, wouldn't it?"

"Not really, sir."

"Weren't you just talking to him about going home?"

She shrugged at him. "It's not exactly an isolated incident."

"No?" The idea that she would get that upset more than once scared him.

"At least once a day, sir."

"You're telling me you regularly call him, hysterical like that and crying about how much you don't like it here?" The very notion that Sam could get that distraught in the first place was disturbing.

Sam looked down guiltily. "So he did send you, sir?"

"You know, I never thought he could be so cold. He always seemed like a nice guy." Jacob had always seemed very loving and warm; at least towards Sam.

A flicker of annoyance crossed her face and Jack was fairly certain he heard the phrase 'heartless bastard' disguised behind a cough. She didn't say anything more. Jack got the distinct impression Sam thought Jack was there to spy on her for her father.

"He didn't send me here, Sam."

Her eyes darted up to his, gauging how truthful he was. Evidently, she didn't think much of him. "But you know him, sir? That's an awfully odd coincidence."

Jack bit his lip as he tried to figure out how best to answer her. "Sort of. He doesn't know me."

"With all due respect, sir, if my father didn't send you, what are you doing here?"

A smile found its way across his face as understanding dawned on him. Carter had dodged repeated attempts from himself and Daniel to get her to elaborate on that part of history that hadn't happened yet. She'd refused to tell him because of her unnatural obsession with not changing things. But he knew finally - the difference between their reality and the other ones was her military service, the something that hadn't happened yet that she remembered was his little trip to the past. Sam must have decided not to quit the Air Force because of him. He was proud of himself for something he hadn't done yet. "You need help. I need help. I think we can work something out."

"No offense, sir, but I'm about to drop out and get disowned by my father, so unless you're offering bus fare, I doubt we can really help each other much." She began gathering papers from the counter. "I have a class in five minutes, sir."

Not sure which one of them he was more disappointed in, he sighed loudly. "Fine, go. Although I don't imagine perfect attendance counts for much if you drop out." He stood up. "We're not done here, Carter."

"Yes, sir." It was obvious from her tone that she didn't believe him.

He wasn't offended; he didn't blame her for the conclusion she reached. "Later, Carter." He headed for the door, not even sure where he was going. He didn't have any cash on him and none of his credit cards were any good and he was sure that, unlike at the mountain, they would actually verify his ID if he tried to get guest quarters on base. He wasn't looking forward to spending the night in the car - it certainly wouldn't do his knees any good. Still, he knew he had no choice. He had to earn Sam's trust before she would help him and he certainly couldn't do that by stalking her.

_AN2: I also know absolutely nothing about the Air Force Academy and little about military anything, so I apologize for any mistakes!_


	5. Chapter Five

_AN: Thank you guys so much for the review. Although I've written plenty of fic in my time, this is my first Stargate piece. Thank you for making me feel welcome! Jessa_

Chapter Five

Sleeping - or, more accurately, trying to sleep - in the car resulted in Jack being up long before the sun. It worked out well for him because he knew the cadets were usually at the firing range first thing in the morning. And he had a sneaking suspicion Sam would welcome a distraction.

He was absolutely right. He found the group of cadets aiming and missing for the most part. With the large numbers, it should have been difficult to spot her, but it wasn't. In fact, he was alarmed at how easily he spotted her. Her hair was once again untamed. Her cover was lying on the ground behind her, rather than sitting on her head where it was supposed to be. Her shirt wasn't tucked in again. And the most obvious thing - one short burst from the rifle in her hands sent her sprawling on the ground. Jack was pissed off that the instructors weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to her. Even if it was obvious to them that she was going to wash out, they shouldn't have let her fend for herself.

Jack straightened out his rumpled uniform and approached the lieutenant running the exercise. Now, he absolutely hated how Carter - the one in his time - jumped to attention when he walked in the room, but he had to admit he liked the effect of his promotion on everyone else. He especially loved how no one questioned him when he said he needed Sam to accompany him. Although her face remained stoic and impassive, the light in her eyes betrayed just how happy she was to be rescued from such a humiliating situation. She didn't question him; the stars on his shoulders assured her acquiescence. He didn't break the silence as he steered her toward the science building. He knew she was always more comfortable in a lab than anywhere else; he was hoping that had always been the case. He was banking on that comfort - he needed her to relax and trust him. Because she needed to trust him before she would help him. Because she absolutely needed to trust him before he would even dare to tell her the story.

"So, Carter, you seem a little calmer than yesterday."

"It's still early, sir. I'm tired." As she spoke the words, Jack noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

"Up all night playing with one of your little science gizmos?"

Unexpectedly, Sam's shoulders slumped and the tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm sorry, sir. I was going to put it back. I just wanted to try a few manipulations and they were locking the building and they wouldn't let me stay. I swear, it's in my bag. I didn't think anyone would notice it was gone." She frantically pawed at her bag, producing some doohickey which she thrust into Jack's hands. "It's not broken or anything. I just wanted to-"

Jack reached out, thankful for the early hour and lack of witnesses, and clamped his hand over her mouth. "Breathe, Carter. Whatever. I'm sure no one knew it was gone. I don't care. I trust you." Satisfied she wasn't going to start defending herself again, he moved his hand to her bag and shoved the undoubtedly extremely expensive machine inside.

She looked confused. "You didn't know?"

Jack shook his head, although if he'd thought about it, he could easily see Sam making off with scientific gadgets until she was old enough to have her own lab that she could refuse to leave for days at a time.

"Then how did you know I was up all night working on it?" Her panicked tears had abated, replaced by her piercing, inquisitive stare. That was the Sam he was used to.

Jack smiled mysteriously. "All in good time, Carter." It wasn't quite time to start his 'I'm from the future' speech.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Jack watched as her face momentarily reflected annoyance before it was replaced with the blank stare of a cadet. "Not much of a mystery, sir. Obviously my father told you."

He was disappointed that she hadn't taken the bait, but he didn't let it show. "The purple circles helped." He saw the uncertainty on her face - she'd never met a general who was flippant. All the ones she'd ever run into at the Air Force Academy were mean and completely devoid of a sense of humor. "You never sleep. You'd always rather be working on something in the lab."

She offered him a small, forced smile to placate him. "Your insight into my character would seem so much more impressive if you weren't friends with my father."

"Your father has no idea who I am. Call and ask. I dare you."

"That won't prove anything, sir. He'd lie straight to my face about it." She looked down. "Like some general is all of a sudden going to take me under his wing for no particular reason." Her voice and words seemed angry, but her eyes revealed just how much she wished that were the case.

They had finally reached the lab and Jack waited quietly while Sam replaced the whatsermajigger she'd borrowed. Once she was sitting down, Jack smiled at her. "It's not for no reason. I told you before, I need your help. And I can help you."

"How? By not telling my dad that I'm quitting?"

"You're not going to quit. I won't let you."

The irritated look on her face melted away, revealing a deep hurt Jack hadn't realized she was hiding. "Did you see those guys out there? They were laughing at me. Everyone hates me. They don't want me here. I don't want me here. And Dad's trying to make me stay. He just doesn't want me home because he hates me too."

"Your father loves you. He doesn't know how to show it, but he does love you. He wants you to stay here because he knows it's the only way you'll get to be an astronaut. That's your dream, isn't it?" He waited for her to nod. "As for those guys - well, you're just going to have to trust me on this - every last one of them is dying to get to know you. You're a million times smarter than they are and they know it."

"Why would they want to get to know me?" She looked truly baffled.

Jack tilted his head to the side. "Are you kidding? Have you looked in a mirror?" The deep red blush that stained her cheeks told him that she understood his meaning clearly, but he felt compelled to continue. He'd wanted to say the words to her for so long; there was his chance to do it without fear of repercussion. He hooked a finger under her chin, pulling her face up to look at his. He held her eyes as he spoke, belatedly realizing she'd known how he felt about her twenty years before he ever met her. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life, Samantha."

She stared right back into his eyes for a long time. She didn't dispute his words. She didn't point out how inappropriate it was for him to say such a thing to her. He could tell she believed him. Within a second, the obnoxious, teenage glint in her eyes was gone, replaced with that all too familiar gaze of hers - part adoring, part awestruck, part mesmerized.

And he suddenly understood why Carter had always looked at him like that, why she never doubted him, why she never stayed mad at him for more than a minute. He'd been the first man to ever tell her how beautiful she was, the first man to treat her with the respect due an adult woman. And he also knew without a doubt that her love for him hadn't grown slowly over the course of their friendship. No, it had been instantaneous - a childish love born flattery, puppy love. Yet it somehow stood the test of time and at some point along the way, it had become real.

A powerful feeling rose in his chest at that moment, the intensity of which threatened to choke him. Samantha Carter had been in love with him for nearly twenty years. He closed his eyes, unable to hold her eyes any longer with the overwhelming emotion he felt.

One thing was certain - when he got back to his own time, things were going to change. Sam had waited long enough.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Reigning in control of himself, he sat back and let his hand drop from her face. The moment hadn't passed unnoticed by her; her face, which had been softened by emotion, sharpened instantly. She sat up straight, drawing in a deep breath.

"Who are you?"

Jack winced and looked away. He hadn't meant to tip his hand; he really hadn't. He just couldn't seem to help himself where she was concerned sometimes. He'd scared her, the last thing he'd wanted to do. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Look, this is going to sound really crazy, but I swear to God, it's true." He glanced at her, heartened to see the curiosity beating out the suspicion. "I don't know your father, Carter - well, I do, but not yet. I mean, I don't know what I mean." He was as confused as he normally was when she was telling him something important. "I know you, Carter."

She only looked alarmed for a moment. Jack wasn't sure if that was good thing or not. She had no reason to trust him besides his word. He didn't think it was wise for her to get into the habit of trusting people she didn't know, but he wanted to believe she felt the connection between them, that he was the only random stranger she'd instinctively trust.

She smiled softly, letting her eyes fall on his for a brief moment. "Do I want to know how? You don't mean as in you've been reading my records, do you?"

He shook his head. She was taking it far better than he'd expected, of course, he hadn't gotten to the kicker yet. "Actually, Carter, it's considerably more unbelievable than that."

"Ok, sir, so how about you start talking and if I think you're lying I'll call my dad?"

He took a moment to hope that Sam was much more advanced academically than he had been at eighteen. He figured it was a pretty safe bet. "I may botch up this explanation horribly, but if I do, I'll just consider it an omen that I ought to actually listen when yo- when people try to explain things I don't understand." He met her eyes and thought he detected a hint of mirth in them, but he couldn't be sure. She was, however, staring at him as though he was the most fascinating person in the entire world. He enjoyed the feeling when it was her thinking that; the Asgard, not so much.

"You're good with astrophysics, right?"

"Unnaturally so, yes, sir."

"So you know a thing or two about wormholes, right?"

Sam's eyes went wide as saucers. "They're supposed to be purely theoretical, but I have this idea that take into account fluctuations-"

He held up his hand, cutting her off mid-sentence once he remembered why he never listened to her explaining things. "Ok, so, theoretically, if you had a wormhole that just so happened to go by the sun when it just so happened to have a solar flare at that exact moment, what could happen?"

Sam looked at him and shrugged. "A bunch of different things are possible, I guess. Matter in the wormhole could be completely vaporized or the wormhole could collapse on itself or it could shift to a different location from the increased energy or it might not be affected at all or - God, I really don't know."

Jack was dumbfounded; he'd counted on her to get him home. He decided to try a new tactic. If he gave her enough information, she should be able to figure it out on her own. And it would only be then that she would believe his story anyway. The difficult part would be giving her enough accurate information without getting it all garbled up. "Ok, let's go with the shifting to a different location theory. Where could it go?"

"Anywhere, I guess. It's hard to know since there's not even much theory to work from." She cocked her head to the side and bit her lower lip. "It might bend away from the flare to preserve its integrity maybe, so it would likely shift in the same direction as the flare was going in." She paused, letting her eyes scan his face. Jack knew she was trying to figure out if she had the right answer. "Maybe the distance from the original intended destination is proportional to the size of the flare?"

Now, Jack had no idea if she was right or not, but it sounded logical enough to him. "Assuming that's right, what if it was a big, honking flare?"

Sam looked down; her mind working to answer him while her mouth worked to hide her smile. "Do you know the answer, sir?"

He had no idea what he was supposed to say. He only vaguely remembered her own explanation from years earlier. "Maybe. Do you?" She always enjoyed theorizing, so he took a gamble that she'd come up with something.

"I guess if the flair was big enough, the wormhole could go back in the direction it came from." She glanced at him for confirmation, hoping for a hint. "And it would be looking for somewhere to discharge its energy, so it could feasibly double-back on itself at the point of origin."

It sounded like she was getting close, but she hadn't brought up the most important part yet - time travel. It was really something he thought would be better received if she said it first. "So if someone was going through that wormhole when it doubled-back on itself, would they bump into themselves?"

Sam shook her head. "No, it's not possible. Matter isn't created in a wormhole; it's just in another form, rearranged, sort of. If he bumped into himself, there would have to actually be two of him and that's just not possible."

"So what would happen to that guy?"

He saw the moment the answer dawned on her. Her whole face lit up; her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Oh, my God!" Her wide eyes met his. "Oh, my God!"

He'd expected disbelief, distrust, denial. Instead, she was even more enthralled with him. She looked at him, scrutinizing him from head to toe. He squirmed under her stare.

"You're from the future?"

He wanted to laugh at hearing someone say that in all seriousness. He nodded. "Yup."

"How far?" Her eyes were dancing. He'd never seen her so excited over anything ever. She was undoubtedly entertaining all sorts of ideas that could have bad outcomes.

"Eighteen years."

"That's all?" She looked disappointed.

"It's far enough for me, Carter."

"So what do you need my help with?"

"Getting back there."

She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded slowly. "Let me get this straight. You need my help to get back to the future?"

When she put it that way, it sounded preposterous. But there was nothing incorrect about her succinct statement. Jack nodded at her.

Her face turned threatening. "Let me guess. You broke the flux capacitor and you need some plutonium."

"Huh?" He thought it was fairly obvious that he didn't know what he needed, only that he needed her to fix it. But he was certain Carter had never mentioned plutonium. He vaguely remembered something about a super-heavy element she'd been talking about that time they'd accidentally gated through that sun, but that had nothing to do with time travel. He shook his head to clear the foggy thoughts. Nope, he was definitely lost again.

"Back to the Future? Michael J. Fox? Christopher Lloyd? It was a big movie a couple years ago? Do I really look like an idiot, sir? Or maybe you have some lottery numbers for me. Or some hot stock tips?"

"I'm not a fan of science fiction. I've never seen it."

"You seem big on lying, though." She still looked mad, but also like she wanted to cry. "Tell my dad I got the message. Sorry to waste your time, sir." She turned away, folding her arms across the table and dropping her face into them. It was only a moment before her shoulders started to shake.

"Ok, look, I know this is hard to believe, but it's true." Unable to resist a second time, he reached out, smoothing her hair back from her face. "Carter, Sam, come on, don't cry."

She sniffled and sobbed in a very un-Carter-like fashion. "I believed you. I am an idiot."

He leaned over, placing a hand lightly on her back and rubbing gently. "No, you believed me because you know I would never lie to you."

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "How would I know that?"

He brushed her face with his hand, rubbing his thumb slowly over her cheek. "You just do." He could feel the shiver that ran through her. "Give me a pen and some paper. Check with your dad. I was a captain in 1987, working special ops in Iran. I was 30. My father was dead and I don't have any siblings. You can confirm that much." He grabbed for the notebook she wasn't quite offering, turned to the first page with room on it and scribbled down his name so she wouldn't accidentally get the other Jack O'Neil.

She stared at the information he'd scrawled, obviously annoyed that he'd written in the middle of her notes. Apparently, she was meticulous about what went in her notebook. "And hypothetically, if I do decide to help you, how do I find you?"

He couldn't very well tell her he was sleeping in his car in the parking lot. "I'll find you." He winked at her and then walked away.

"Oh, that's reassuring."

Jack heard her sigh and knew she was going to spend a long time staring at that paper before she hopefully agreed to help.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

He didn't know how long to give her. He didn't want to show up and bug her, in case that would sway her decision. He was bored, but he couldn't drive anywhere. Eventually someone would realize the car was missing; he was just hoping the last place they'd even look was in the parking lot of the Air Force Academy. Jack didn't know what he would do if she said no; she was pretty much his only chance.

Deciding not to think about it was easy; deciding what to do instead was slightly more complicated. It wasn't like he could do much without any money. And being in uniform, rumpled as it was, pretty much ruled out blending in anywhere. He settled on taking a walk around the campus, since no one would pay any attention to him there.

The weather was warm, much too hot for his jacket, so he carried it on one arm as he walked. As long as he didn't look too closely, he could pretend he was walking around on a regular day - not one that was eighteen years in the past. He wondered, if it came down to it, if he could survive the ten years until Carter officially 'met' him and might then be willing to help him. Certainly he had the survival training to last and the sense to stay away from anyone who might recognize him. He could even resist cleaning up financially by making huge bets on sports. But he wasn't sure if he could last ten years without Carter. And honestly, he didn't want to cause her the pain of wondering where he'd been for ten years, even if she would technically know where he was if she turned him down. Sighing, he shifted his jacket from one arm to the other and began to pray fervently that it wouldn't come down to that.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Fearing he'd just been caught by someone for something, Jack turned around slowly to face the cadet. "Yes?"

The girl smiled nervously, offering him a wrinkled envelope. "The general dropped this, sir."

Jack recognized it immediately. It was the envelope Sam had asked him to bring with him. The same one she'd insisted he leave on her desk. The very same one she'd sealed - the act of which thoroughly distracted him. He should have known it would come back to haunt him; it had fallen out of his jacket. "Thank you, cadet." His smile was genuine as he fingered the paper.

Carter had known; she must have. There had to be something inside that could help him. He slipped his finger under the flap and broke the seal. He had high hopes for the note Carter had sent back with him. She knew he'd be the one to read it. Jack assumed, therefore, that it was perfectly reasonable to think it would be written in plain English so that he could understand it.

He growled as he looked at the incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers. Nonsense. Utter nonsense, penned carefully in her delicate, perfect handwriting. It was the only physical link he had to his real world; too bad it was jibberish. He turned it over and scanned the back, actually finding some things he recognized - an address in D.C., a list of dates and times, and one short comment, the only thing aimed deliberately at him. It said simply 'I told you I wasn't kidding about the timing - Sam.'

He laughed. Standing in the middle of a busy walkway, Jack cracked up at the note. She'd known he would go back in time. She'd known she would warn him about the timing. And she'd known he would ignore her warning and get what he deserved.

But the best part, the part that made him smile as he continued on, was that she'd signed it Sam. It made sense that she didn't use her rank, but the few previous times when she'd jotted a note for him or sent him email, she either used Carter or nothing at all. He was happy. It wasn't much; it wasn't something he could explain to anyone. But it gave him hope.

He waited until late afternoon to return to the building where he'd left Sam. He couldn't take it any longer and he was hoping having that note from her future self might help convince her. He expected she'd be up in the lab, working away, probably not even aware that hours had gone by. Needless to say, he was quite surprised to find her perched on the stone railing by the front door.

She hopped down and approached him with a wide smile. "I thought maybe you'd found your own way home, sir."

He grinned. "So you believe me."

"My dad sent me this." She waved a piece of paper in front of him.

It was a fax. A very, very, very bad fax on that impossibly thin paper that curled up wherever he tried to flatten it. But he saw enough - it was a picture of him. "Could be my brother?"

"No siblings, remember, sir?" Her eyes were shining, but he couldn't tell which she was happier about - that he was honest or that he was from the future. Jack figured it was probably both.

He handed the paper back to her. "So, how'd you get Jake to turn all that confidential stuff over?"

Sam grinned again and that time Jack knew it was pure pride. "I told him I met this guy at a party and he said he was 20 and I thought he was older." She shrugged. "Gee, who would have thought my dad was paranoid about who I was talking to?"

Jack squeezed his eyes closed and wondered how he'd managed to survive meeting Jacob Carter without being torn limb from limb. He guessed Jacob just hadn't remembered him.

"He was all too happy to inform me that my friend was 30 and very married and also AWOL since he was supposed to be overseas." She looked concerned for a minute. "I hope I didn't get you in trouble, sir."

An evil idea crossed his mind - the way he'd found out the other Jack O'Neil didn't have a sense of humor. He'd actually never found out what had pissed the other man off so much, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was very much his fault. "Sam, as soon as you get a chance, you need to call your father back and tell him you made a mistake. Tell him it was O'Neil with one l."

She nodded, happy to help protect him. "So, where do we start?"

"First things first. I haven't eaten in two days. I'm starving."

"Don't they have food in the future?"

"If I'd been planning far enough ahead to bring food, don't you think I would have planned a way to get home?" He thought he had her, but she simply smiled.

"I would have."

Jack started to laugh as he pulled her note out of his pocket. "Funny you should mention that. Cause you did."

"I'm good." She grabbed the paper, smiling and trying to absorb all the information at once. She turned to head back into the building. "I have to work on these."

Jack touched her shoulder, stilling her long enough to take the paper away. "Let's get this straight now. I'm in charge. I say what we do. Right now, I say food first, math later."

A distinctly disappointed expression crossed Sam's face as she squared her shoulders and met his eyes defiantly. "You can tell me what to do, sir, but you should keep in mind that you're depending on me."

"You are usually the one with the brilliant ideas." He knew she could go for days without eating or sleeping when she was working, but he already had.

"Want to know what brilliant idea I'm having now?"

"Please tell me it involves food, Carter." He wasn't sure if it was his voice or his stomach that was growling.

"I'm thinking pizza delivery."

Jack smiled happily. "That is brilliant."

"But I'm broke." Sam winced as she looked away. "Daddy won't send me any money until he's sure I'm not going to use it to go home."

"So we're going to starve, right?"

"Mark."

It was possible the hunger was making him hallucinate. "I'm not Mark."

"No, you're not. But Mark has money and Mark likes to share with me when Dad's mad at me."

Jack smiled. "Sweet. Mark it is, then."

He was a little nervous about driving anywhere - he wasn't looking forward to the trouble he'd get in if he got caught driving a car that had been effectively stolen with a girl who was barely legal riding shotgun and no identification that would appear legitimate to anyone. But there weren't any other options. Mark's apartment was only a few minutes away; evidently, he hadn't moved to San Diego yet.

It was the first time Jack had met Mark and he wasn't at all surprised to see the suspicious way Sam's brother eyed him as they were introduced. Mark listened to the tale Sam wove explaining how she needed money for this and that and how Jacob wouldn't send her any. Mark politely inquired how the Air Force Academy was going. Much to Jack's surprise, Sam lied, smiling as she told him all was well. She caught Jack's eyes, practically daring him to contradict her. Jack stood back and tried to look bored, playing the part of the man who'd unhappily been asked to drive her there. Mark seemed a little unsure when Sam told him how much money she needed.

"A few hundred dollars?"

Sam ducked her head - as good as the lies were that she could invent, she didn't like telling them. "I got into some trouble. Please?"

Mark shook his head in resignation. "Am I ever going to get it back?"

"Eventually." She grinned. "At some point in the future." She giggled at her own joke.

It took all of his training not to crack up, and even then, Jack was fighting to keep a straight face. Sam's giggle was infectious and Mark started to laugh, although he had no idea why he was laughing. He continued to smile as he pulled out his checkbook.

Jack waited until they were back in the car before he brought up dinner again. "Weren't we aiming for pizza?"

"I just got five hundred dollars from the man and you want me to hit him up for pizza too?" She shook her head at him. "Besides, do you really feel like explaining to him why you can't get your own pizza?"

"The banks are closed. What good is a five hundred dollar check we can't cash till tomorrow when I'm hungry now?"

Sam produced several twenties from her pocket. "Mark slipped me these. He thought maybe you had something to do with the trouble I was in."

Jack grinned as he pulled into the parking lot of the first pizza place he saw. "Then I forgive him."

"Forgive him for what?"

"For introducing you to Pete."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Who's Pete?"

Jack grinned harder. "No one of consequence."


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

They were absolutely stuffed when they got back in the car. Jack was quite happy, having finished off most of a large pizza and half a pitcher of beer. The beer had been a mistake, as he'd forgotten until the waitress returned with only one mug that Sam wasn't old enough to help him out. He was content, so content for the time being that he didn't even mind having to buy clothes. He was fairly certain that getting back home was going to involve the long drive from Colorado to that D.C. address in Sam's note and he wasn't about to spend all that time in his rather disgusting uniform. The shopping trip was kept short. In fact, he left Sam in the car, illegally parked in the fire lane with the engine running while he grabbed the first decent things he found.

The next stop was a dinky little motel on the edge of town. He couldn't get quarters on the base without revealing his 'I'm from the future' gig. Jack was planning to take Sam back to her dorm after he registered, but she begged him to let her stay. Somewhere in the middle of her vivid description of her Bon Jovi loving roommate who played 'Slippery When Wet' over and over again, Jack felt compelled to take pity on her. It could have been the fact that he hated Bon Jovi, but he knew it was much more likely that it had something to do with the pathetic, pleading look in her eyes. It was hard enough to tell Colonel Carter no; it was impossible to say it to a teenage Sam.

He checked the area in a rather paranoid fashion before he walked up to the door. He had no desire to explain why he was checking into a motel with a young coed. He made one request as he closed the door behind her. "Your father never, ever finds out about this." Naïve as she was, she simply nodded, not even realizing why he was so adamant.

He ducked into the bathroom to shower and change while Sam settled onto one of the beds to work. She wanted to start working right away; Jack had no objection since it would speed up his trip home. In only a few minutes, he returned to the small room. He felt tremendously better in jeans and a t-shirt, not to mention the simple comfort of being showered and shaved and stretched out on an actual bed. It felt like a piece of heaven. Glancing at Sam, who was spread completely across the adjacent bed with textbooks and a calculator and a notebook and the note from herself and an assortment of pens and pencils, it appeared that she was in heaven as well, as evidenced by the smug grin that was firmly entrenched on her face.

He turned on the TV and forced his eyes onto the images on the screen rather than Sam. He loved to watch her work, especially when she was all wrapped up in solving something, but under the circumstances, he thought it might just creep her out. And he realized he could still see her out of the corner of his eye.

He'd seen her hair long before - when the alternate Carter had crashed the SGC with her tale of having lost her husband - but somehow this was completely different. Because it was his Carter. Not one from a different set of circumstances. Not one that might have been. But the very same one. He closed his eyes, suddenly desperate to get home to her.

"Uh, sir?"

Jack's eyes snapped open. "Yeah?"

She pointed at the TV. "Are you watching that? Cause it's really distracting."

"Sorry." He turned it off and tried to come up with some way to fill the time until he could see her - the grown up her - again. Sam worked quietly for several minutes, not making any sound. He was actually surprised at just how stealthy she could be. But sure enough, just when he'd convinced himself that he was all alone, he heard her voice again.

"Uh, sir?" Her voice was uncharacteristically shy and Jack found it as endearing as everything else about little Sam.

"Yes, Carter?" His own voice came out completely flat and he listened to the silence as she tried to read him.

"Can I ask you something kind of personal?"

Jack's eyes, which had settled closed again, popped open. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that conversation with his Carter; he certainly wasn't prepared to discuss it with junior. But he didn't want to hurt her feelings, not with the enthralled look on her face every time he smiled at her. "As long as I reserve the right to not answer."

She nodded and turned around to face him without disturbing her carefully arranged notes. "How do we know each other? In the future, I mean?"

His face betrayed nothing as he flinched inwardly. "We work together."

"Where?"

He smiled. "Can't tell you that." He couldn't resist winking at her. "You don't have clearance yet."

"Obviously it has something to do with wormholes." She tried to play down the blush on her face, but her pale skin did nothing to conceal it. "But don't worry, I won't tell."

"If I worked with wormholes, wouldn't I be able to help myself?" One would think, at least, but then one would be grossly overestimating how much about the Stargate Jack actually understood.

Sam looked perplexed. "But I'm still in the military?"

Jack nodded, unable to explain the pride he felt in telling her. "You're a Lieutenant Colonel."

She blushed again, but didn't look away. "That's hard to imagine."

Remembering that he had a mission there besides getting home, he met her eyes. "I told you I could help you. Don't worry; we'll work on that before I leave."

"You seem to know me pretty well considering we only work together."

Jack shrugged and tried to hide his dismay at how quickly she turned the topic to something less uncomfortable for her. In only a short time, she was secure enough in their dynamic to bring up their relationship. He cleared his throat and tried to act nonchalant. "We've worked together for a long time."

She nodded once and looked down, fooling Jack into thinking she had accepted his answer. His eyes drifted closed; he was tired from not having slept well the night before in the car. Sam didn't make a sound, but he assumed she'd gone back to her happy math place.

"So you tell all the women under your command that they're beautiful?" Her voice was so close that Jack nearly jumped off the bed. She'd moved to sit on the edge of her bed, leaning over until she was only a foot away.

He sat up and forced himself into general mode as best he could while she had him absolutely frazzled. He reasoned that just because she was getting to him didn't mean that she knew she was getting to him. His Carter never seemed to be aware of it when she was driving him crazy and he knew her well enough to know she wasn't faking it. He offered her a cocky grin, one he'd never seen her successfully resist. "Only the beautiful ones."

She held his eyes and smirked and he realized she was well aware of how she was getting to him. "And how many would that be?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat and managed to croak an answer past the frog that had lodged itself there. "Oh, just the one." He crossed his arms over his chest. "And who said you were in my command?"

She sat back, satisfied. "There's no mathematical way for me to make general in eighteen years, since I'm only a cadet now, so I figured if we work together, you had to be my CO."

He hated it when she had a perfectly legitimate answer to the questions he meant to throw her with and she always have a perfectly legitimate answer. He needed to stop trying. "Ok, fine, so?" He wasn't sure if it was worth it at that point to save face, but he was going to stick with it.

"So you know me awfully well for my CO."

Obviously, they didn't teach cadets not to question generals until their second semester. Jack made a mental note to talk to someone about that. "We're friends. I told you, we've worked together for a long time."

She grinned. "So now we're friends?" Her eyes sparkled with delight.

He was normally very defensive about his relationship with Carter. He usually felt so guilty for having such inappropriate feelings for her. But he couldn't resist her smile and she knew it. Answering the one question she wasn't asking was the only way to get the upper hand. "We're not sleeping together, if that's what you're getting at."

He'd been sure initially that was her real question, but she didn't seem discouraged at all. "Of course not. If you're my CO, that would be in gross violation of the regs, sir."

"Ah, yes, the infamous regs. And here I was starting to wonder if you'd been introduced to them." His eyes fell to the floor, unable to face her curiosity anymore and knowing his sarcasm would do nothing to dissuade her.

"Is that the only reason?" She was so quiet and serious that she sounded exactly like the Carter he knew.

His eyes climbed back to hers. He wouldn't lie; he couldn't answer. Eventually she turned away. Apparently, she'd been expecting him to deny it. Sam went back to her notes. Jack tried to go back to sleep. He couldn't, naturally, but he pretended. He thought it might be better if she didn't ask any more questions about them and the only way to stop her was to pretend he was asleep.

One thing became clear to him as he lay there, silently musing on everything he knew about Carter. It was the one thing he'd always wondered about her because he hadn't seen it coming. During that whole fiasco with Anise and the zay'tarc detector, Carter had been so sure of his feelings for her. Five years later, he continued to wonder, at times, if she ever felt anything besides friendship for him, yet she showed no fear or uncertainty when she approached her CO about his feelings for her. She'd had a confidence when she approached him, a confidence that he have had, a confidence that allowed her to broach that subject first. He finally knew how she'd been so sure. He'd told her.


	9. Chapter Nine

_AN: Just so you know, I made a slight change to Chapter Eight that might help some of the confusion caused by their conversation. Thanks so much for the supportive comments. It's always scary to wade into a new fandom and you guys have made me feel welcome. Thanks again. Jessa_

Chapter Nine

Jack drifted in and out of sleep. He'd spent so much of his life sleeping in a makeshift camp or off-world somewhere that he only got confused about where he was when he actually woke up in his own bed. So he wasn't upset to wake up in a strange place. And he'd spent plenty of those nights during the previous nine years in a camp in close proximity to Carter. So he wasn't really surprised to open his eyes to find her face in front of his either. Only half awake, he reveled in the moment, believing it was one of those rare times when she'd shifted closer to him in her sleep and he'd reached out for her in his sleep. He stared at her face, free to observe her close up for the moment. He could pretend that it wasn't so rare, that he got to wake up to her every morning. It slowly started to dawn on him that, although she never looked her age, that morning in particular, she appeared even younger than normal. Things clicked into place one at a time - the length of her hair, the motel room, the worse-for-wear cadet uniform.

The realization hit him so hard he fell backward off the bed. Unfortunately, he forgot to release his hold on her and she toppled off the bed with him and landed unceremoniously on top of him. She blinked at him sleepily, not quite awake enough to care what was happening.

"Carter?" As much as he thoroughly enjoyed having her on top of him like that, he would have much preferred his Carter. Sam said nothing. "Move, Carter." Sam complied groggily, clawing her way back onto his bed without opening her eyes.

He wasn't having that. He was wide awake, at four in the morning, and he was going to make damn sure she was up too. "Carter!" Like a good little cadet, she jumped up and stood at attention, even though she was swaying slightly and her eyes kept slipping closed. Jack stood up and tried to look mad. "What are you doing in my bed?"

Her stiff pose sagged as her hand came up to rub her eyes. "I was tired." She looked at her watch, obviously confused by it. "I only went to sleep a half hour ago." She yawned. "Sir."

He told himself that she wasn't hopelessly adorable, but he didn't fall for it. "Why were you in my bed?"

She opened her eyes, sheer disgust reflecting in them for having been woken up. "Cause I didn't want to mess up my stuff."

Belatedly Jack noticed that mess of papers that completely covered the surface of the other bed. "Oh." He couldn't really be mad since she'd worked all night to help him. And he was well aware of the fact that he'd been the one with his arms around her.

She folded her arms across her chest and sat down on the bed, ceasing any semblance of respecting his authority. "Besides, you're the one who snuggled up to me."

He wanted to sink through the floor. "I was asleep." To say he was mortified wasn't even scratching the surface.

Sam didn't seem to care. Her head was leaning to the side in her half-asleep stupor. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Are you finished with this?" He waved his hand at the spread of papers.

"Sure, I guess." Her head jerked up and she looked around. Jack had seen the fleeting confusion on her face before - she'd just completely woken up. He felt bad for not letting her sleep. He seemed to be the cause of far too many nights she worked through rather than sleep. She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm done. We're good."

Jack looked back and forth between Sam and the papers. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. I can show you what I did and you can check over it if you'd like."

Jack shook his head, amazed once again by how little sleep she needed to function. "Like I would know if you made it all up."

"I didn't make any- wait, you mean you really don't know this stuff?" Jack shook his head. "You really trust me that much?" Jack nodded. "Wow."

Jack smiled. "Ok, so you helped me. My turn to help you."

Sam looked suspicious. "With what?"

Leary of messing up her precious papers, Jack sat next to her on his bed. "Ill-conceived as the idea may seem now, you'll do just fine with your training. You'll actually like the Air Force if you give it a chance. The training just takes time to sink in." She nodded, but didn't look at all convinced. "And I'm thinking the only think I can really teach you is how to handle a rifle."

"I don't think you can help. I don't think anyone can. I don't really care how to handle a rifle and no one in their right mind would want me to try."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone thought I was crazy." He nudged her shoulder with his own until she looked up. Then he winked. "You're the best shot I know."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Better than me."

She grinned. "Probably because you did a good job teaching me."

He smiled. "Sure, I'll take credit for it. Even though I haven't done it yet."

Jack waited while Sam gathered her things together. He knew better than to rush her. As they drove back to the Air Force Academy, Jack started to wonder why she wasn't asking him about the future, her future. "Aren't you curious?"

"About what, sir?"

"Anything. The future. Big news events. Who wins the next eighteen Superbowls. Just anything. Don't you want to ask me anything?"

Sam smiled. "I really don't care who won the Superbowl, sir."

For someone who had such a pronounced tendency to babbly theoretically, Sam could be awfully concrete at times. Jack shook his head in disbelief. "You aren't curious about anything? Not even advances in science?"

"I'm very curious, sir. In fact, I'd love to go with you and see it all for myself. But if you tell me about what happens and I do something different, then everything might be different."

Jack half smiled at her. "And you don't want to change it." At least there was one thing he could count on.

Sam turned to look at him somberly. "What if changing something means I don't meet you?"

In that one moment, complete clarity dawned on him as to why Carter was so deathly afraid of altering things. He'd been sure Carter remembered his trip back in time, but he could have been wrong. Her hint at it had been his whole justification for finding her young self; he feared that might have been the wrong thing to do. Maybe she'd been talking about something else. Maybe he'd bumped into her accidentally the first time around. Maybe he'd already changed things. And it wasn't like he could go back and ask her if he'd gotten it right - she'd only remember what he'd already changed. Hell, by the time he got back to his life, it might not be his life after all. This Sam might not have stayed in the military. This Sam might not have joined the Stargate program. This could have been the biggest mistake of all time.

His mind worked to untangle itself from the knot it had twisted itself into. "Next time I go time traveling, you need to tell me what you remember so I don't change it."

"You mean the time after the next time." She shrugged. "I mean, if I warn you before this time, won't that change things?"

His head started to hurt. He didn't know what the right sequence was. No one did. "That's it. We're not discussing this anymore."

Sam grinned smugly beside him. "Now you know why I'm not grilling you about the future."

Thankfully, they'd made it back to the Air Force Academy before he could confuse himself any further. It was still too early to go to the range, so Sam took advantage of the time to explain her calculations. Jack was horribly lost in the math, but she spelled it out for him, telling him exactly how long he needed to wait after the wormhole was established to enter it. She pointed out that she had no idea how to establish the wormhole, nor how he should enter it, but she figured he knew that part. Jack nodded, not feeling at all compelled to tell her any of it. Anything to avoid another conversation that would make him want a six-pack of beer to help make sense of it.

In the end, she gave him all the notes she'd made, explaining that it was probably best that she forget she even saw them, let alone keep them around where she might be tempted to play with them. There was one paper she kept separate from the stack - the original note. Sam had scribbled the timing information on it for his reference.

By the time the sun came up, Jack was sick of learning and ready to be the teacher. Sam didn't seem enthusiastic at all, but she didn't try to get out of it. She listened closely as Jack explained some of the things that helped him. Then he stood back and watched her for a few minutes. She was trying to incorporate the techniques he'd shown her and, although it was slight, the improvement was instantaneous.

Several hours later, she beamed at him as she lowered the gun. "This is so cool!" Jack couldn't help but be proud of her. She wasn't afraid of using a gun anymore, an important step forward for anyone hoping to make a career in the military. She massaged her blistered hands and grinned at him, not even upset at the way her skin was torn up. "Thank you, sir!"

It was close to time for the cadets to be on the range, so Sam excused herself to go back to her dorm to get ready for the day. Jack was surprised at how eager she'd become in the short time and realized, as he waited for her to return, that the only reason she'd put up a fuss was because she hadn't been good at it. He chuckled to himself. Sam liked to be good at things. She was naturally good at school. The military took work - something she wasn't used to. All she'd needed was someone to help her and she hadn't known how to ask.


	10. Chapter Ten

_AN: Your comments mean the world to me! Thank you guys so much!_

Chapter Ten

Sam returned with the other cadets. She'd already taken her place in the line before Jack even realized she was back. He'd been expecting her sloppy uniform and that blinding, untamed mass of blond hair. What he saw was a squared away cadet - her uniform was perfect, her hair had disappeared under her cover, she saluted the lieutenant in a perfectly respectful way. Jack smiled as he looked on. She broke from the line for a moment, to look back and smile at him. He winked at her. He was too far away to see her blush, but he still knew it was there. And he couldn't help but feel proud when the lieutenant congratulated her on her performance.

When the cadets were finished, they filed away to head to class. Sam lagged behind the group, coming to a stop at Jack's side. She smiled at him brightly. "So, what's next, sir?"

He smiled, something he'd done more in the previous few days than he'd done in the previous few years. "I think my work here is done."

A hint of sadness tarnished Sam's smile. "I'd really like to come with you. Even if I can't go through with you, I'd really love to see how you get there." She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. "Please, sir?"

Jack closed his eyes and steeled himself against her plea. He wasn't used to Sam asking him for anything. It wasn't easy to resist her. "Aw, Sam, don't." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, trying to force all of the emotion out of his expression. He may have looked stern and uncaring, but his heart threatened to mutiny and take her along for the ride. He started to debate with himself - that maybe she was supposed to go with him, that maybe he'd need her help, that maybe without her, he'd screw up the timing again and wind up worse off than he'd been when he left.

"Jack?" Her eyes were begging him with an amazing bright blue depth that nearly drowned him.

The sun was bright that morning, lighting up her face in a way he'd only seen once before - the first time she'd ever walked up to the active stargate. He remembered the amazement on her face when she started in on the fluctuations in the event horizon. He'd had no idea what she was talking about, hell, he still didn't know, but he'd been blinded by her fascination for the moment. He'd been so angry at himself because of his newly-developed soft spot for a scientist, of all people, that he'd shoved her right through it. He'd never told anyone, but it was his favorite memory of Carter; the look on her face had been absolutely priceless.

And he knew right then that he couldn't risk taking her with him. He couldn't let her anywhere near the stargate until that day. He couldn't chance changing that day, or any other. He shook his head. "You and I both know why you can't come with me."

"But we might have already changed things, so what difference does it make?"

"Because we're not changing anything else, ok?"

"But you wouldn't know any different. If we change something, you wouldn't remember otherwise. None of it has happened yet. It won't make any difference." She was pleading with him, but he couldn't give in.

"Look, Carter, I know it's all in the future for you, but it's the past for me. I have memories I don't want to lose, can you understand that?" He didn't want to tell her the memories were of her; he feared he'd already told her too much about them as it was. "You can't come with me, Carter. Your place is here right now, ok?"

She nodded and looked away, trying to hide the tears that formed in her eyes. "Yes, sir."

He looked around to make sure no one would witness it and then reached out to turn her chin up to his. "It's going to be all right, Sam." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, watching once again as that precious blush swept across her face.

"Thank you, sir. For everything." Sam reached out for him, grabbing him before he could react and hugging him close. "I'll miss you."

His instinct made him give in to the hug, squeezing her tight for a brief moment before releasing her. "Nonsense. I'll see you soon."

"You'll see me, but I won't see you." She started to cry again.

He reached out and wiped the tears from her face. "No crying, Carter."

She shook her head and fought to regain control of her emotions. When she looked back at him, he saw the same way she'd looked at him a million times before - and he wondered how in his right mind he'd ever been able to resist it. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Get to class, cadet."

"Yes, sir." She stepped back, biting down her feelings and saluting him.

Jack smiled as she walked away. He wanted to run after her, follow her, make sure she was ok. But he knew he'd already interfered too much. She'd had a valid point - that he wouldn't know any better if they'd changed things because his memory would only consist of the new things. He forced himself to turn away, pondering if any of his memories had changed. He wondered if the zay'tarc detector would know. He laughed at himself as he got in the car for even contemplating going back into that thing voluntarily. He'd have to tell Carter that someday. She might get a kick out of it. Provided, of course, that he hadn't changed that. If she was even still there when he got home.

"I'm never going time traveling again." He made the solemn promise to himself in the rearview mirror. "Never." It wasn't worth risking his relationship with Carter. She just meant too much to him.

The drive to DC took much longer than Jack figured it should have. He spent the entire time checking his rearview mirror for cops, maintaining a good five miles per hour below the speed limit, and thinking up convincing things he could tell people if he got caught. It took three days. By the time he pulled up to the warehouse that he believed housed the gate, he had seen about as much car interior as he could take. He'd never been one for sitting still for extended periods of time and he was ecstatic to be able to leave the car behind - after he wiped it clean of his and Sam's fingerprints.

The warehouse was in an industrial park, with the same bland gray bricks walls and padlocked doors as all the other buildings. The whole park seemed to be abandoned, possibly due to the ten-foot, barbed wire fence surrounding it, but Jack crept through carefully, just in case. Naturally, he had no trouble finding the gate itself. It would have been hard to hide such a huge object; they hadn't even tried. It was packed in its crate, sitting up just like it had been when they'd found it in 1969. There were, however, no trucks he could use to power it up. There was, in fact, nothing else in the warehouse at all. So Jack turned back around and started breaking into the other buildings one at a time. He got lucky in the fourth building - there were a pair of generators. Lugging them back to the gate took time. Carter had been kind enough to provide him with a list of times for the flares, but he'd already missed two and he didn't want to miss anymore.

He jerry-rigged the generators to the gate, checked his watch carefully, and then started dialing manually. It was a lot harder to do than Teal'c made it look. Somehow, Jack made it in time. The gate roared to life and he checked his watch again. He had a few more seconds. He checked around continuously, peering over his shoulder to make sure no one was creeping up behind him.

Finally, he decided it was time. He checked his watch one last time as he entered his code on the GDO. He stepped through, praying his signal hadn't gone to some other time, praying that Sam's calculations were right, praying that he'd still recognize his life when he got back to it.

He'd know in a second.


	11. Chapter Eleven

_AN: Sorry for the delay... RL reared its ugly head last week and I spent most of the week traveling. Hopefully this will be wrapped up in another part. _

Chapter Eleven

Jack's feet landed noisily on the familiar ramp. He smiled as he looked around, noticing no changes to the gate room as far as he could tell. Walter was staring down at him from the control room, but no one else appeared to be around. Making his way upstairs, he figured he could bully Walter into giving him the information he needed.

The poor man looked horribly confused as Jack approached. "Sir? Weren't you just in your office?"

"What day is it?" Since Walter wasn't concerned that he'd been missing, he must have gotten back before he left. So much for those precise calculations.

"It's Wednesday, sir."

It had been Thursday when he left. He hoped it was only a day off. He could avoid himself for a day. He also wouldn't complain if Sam's math was only off by a day - it had been the first time she'd ever seen anything of the sort. He glanced around, paranoid that someone would overhear him. "What's the date, Walter?"

Walter looked confused again and his eyes darted around. As opposed to Jack, he was hoping someone would wander in to help him. "It's the thirteenth, sir." He paused; Jack waited. "Of July, sir." He hesitated again and looked for all the world like he thought he was about to say the wrong thing. "2005, sir. It's Wednesday, July 13, 2005."

Jack nodded. "Good answer, Walter. I was just checking." He turned and left without another word. He had to get off the base before he accidentally ran into his other self. He knew the base well, probably better than anyone else, but he still counted himself lucky when he made it to the surface without incident. According to the clock he'd seen on the wall of the control room, he had just over twelve hours to burn before his little trip to visit Carter's past. He walked the quiet streets, realizing for the first time how hard it was to just wait without having anywhere to go or anything to watch for. Twelve hours wasn't that long, he tried to reason. Twelve hours before he could return to the SGC. Twelve hours before he could tell Carter to forget the negotiation and order her home. Twelve hours before he could tell her things were going to change. He groaned in agony; he wouldn't survive that long. He wouldn't survive twelve minutes.

He grinned as the idea came to him. It was the night before a mission. Carter always tried to go home and get a good night's sleep the night before a mission. He broke into a run, ignoring his knee's cries of protest, not slowing down until he reached her door. He pounded on it as hard as he could, not caring that he was waking her. He heard movement from inside, but the door didn't open. He realized she was probably in the hallway and checking for a car out front.

"It's me, Sam." He hollered loud enough for her to hear even if she was in bed with a pillow over her head.

The door opened only a crack, revealing the chain lock that was still fastened. "Sam, sir?"

He rolled his eyes, proud of himself for not admitting how good it was to see her face. "Carter, open the door."

She stared at him, openly suspicious. "It's one A.M."

"You know that without checking your watch?" Jack knew she had plenty of amazing talents, but that was the first he'd discovered of her telling time without a watch.

"No, sir, I looked to see what time it was when someone started banging on my door."

"Remind me not to wake you up ever. You're awfully grouchy, Sam."

"What do you want, Jack?" The emphasis she put on his name, the fact that she'd even used it at all, spoke volumes about her mood.

He didn't care. "I want you to open the door." He grinned when she pushed the door closed to slide off the lock. No, he didn't care the least bit that she was upset; he was just so damn happy to see her.

As soon as she opened the door, Jack pushed inside, slamming the door closed behind him and grabbing her in one swift motion. Well, he thought it was swift, but judging from Sam's dismayed yelp and the fight she was putting up, he knew she didn't exactly see it that way. His hand found the back of her head and he pressed her face to his in an attempt to soothe her. "Shh, Sam, it's ok." She continued to struggle so he released her. He didn't want to freak her out, although it appeared that he already had.

She darted away from him at the first opportunity, taking refuge on the opposite side of several pieces of furniture. She narrowed her eyes at him and seemed to be analyzing every move he made. With her history, he knew she even questioned that it was really him. "What's going on, sir?"

Jack shrugged as fear crept into him. Maybe things were different with Sam. But if he'd changed things, wouldn't he know that? His headache started to come back. He sighed and collapsed back against the wall. Of all the things he'd imagined happening when he reached for her, he'd never once considered that she'd push him away and run across the room like she had. "Nothing, Carter. Nothing's going on."

She chanced a few steps toward him. "Have you been drinking, sir?"

"No."

Apparently she decided he wasn't going to attack her and approached him. "Is something wrong, sir?"

He winced openly at the word 'sir' and touched a finger to her lips before she could say it again. "I just wanted to see you."

She smiled slightly. "And you couldn't wait six hours?" She tried to sound annoyed, but Jack could hear something else in her voice. She was flattered, touched. It still amazed him that a little attention from him could matter so much to her. The thought caused those feelings to constrict in his chest again, threatening to choke him if he didn't confess.

"God, Sam." He reached out, sliding his fingers across her cheeks and back into her hair. Tugging hard, he pulled her off balance. Her body crashed into his; her hands braced against his chest. His lips captured hers in a sudden, possessive manner, hopefully dispelling any questions she had about his feelings for her. He deepened the kiss, wondering how he'd gone so long without her and barely noticing when her hands moved to his back to hold him close. It only took a few seconds before he was out of breath. His lips drifted over her skin, brushing her forehead, her cheeks, her neck. He breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. "I've waited so long for this, Sam."

She pulled back to smile at him. "Not as long as I have."

He grinned, recognizing that arrogant smirk from her teenage self. "No, I guess not." He brought his hands to her face; holding her in front of him. "I love you, Samantha Carter."

Her eyes filled with tears and she hugged him fiercely. Her face turned in to whisper against his ear. "I've always loved you, Jack. I thought you'd moved on."

"Never." He held her eyes to convince her it was true, but he couldn't stay away for long. He wanted to taste every inch of her and he fully intended to do so right then. He moved in, closing his mouth over hers, and found no resistance. She led him into her bedroom without once breaking their kiss and he knew she had no question about what they were doing. She'd had nearly twenty years to think about it.

He'd never experienced anything like that night. He'd been with his share of women in his time; he'd been married. Being with Sam was beyond anything he'd ever imagined possible. She snuggled in close and fell asleep with her head resting against his chest. He sighed contentedly and let his fingers lightly trail across her back. He was definitely a happy camper and drifted to sleep with a smile on his face.


	12. Chapter Twelve

_AN: Thanks a bunch for the reviews... for the person who asked about Pete - the setting is this coming summer, so Pete is already gone (amen!)._

Chapter Twelve

He awoke with a start long before daybreak. Sam was still asleep; her lips curved up in a smile even in her dreams. Jack cursed himself silently as he carefully detangled their bodies and dressed. He'd progressed to mumbling the curses at himself as he made his way out her front door and into the moonless night.

She was going to be so mad. She'd probably never forgive him. He looked to the skies for inspiration. He didn't know how he could fix what he'd done.

In his haste to see her, to get to her, he'd completely forgotten that he wasn't really home yet. He was close, but technically, her Jack was at home in bed alone and hadn't said one word about his feelings for her in years. She was supposed to sit in that interminable break-of-dawn briefing, scribbling while her Jack stared unabashedly and Daniel droned on.

Those notes she would write would be the only way for him to get back, although he hadn't left at the time. Her Jack would know nothing about the wonderful night they'd spent together.

Jack shook his head, suddenly aware of what that argument with Sam had been about. She'd cornered him because she was hurt that he'd slipped out on her while she was sleeping. At the time, he hadn't known what she was talking about. He sat down on a curb and dropped his face into his hands. Did that mean he hadn't changed anything? Did that mean there was nothing to fix? Or maybe originally he'd only kissed her or something. Maybe he'd done irrevocable damage to their relationship.

He cradled his face in his hands and tried to think straight. Sam had been mad at him that day, although he hadn't known why. He thought back to the conversation they'd had - and how she'd seemed to understand something before she left. At the time, he'd just thought she was nuts, but he'd begun to believe she'd simply realized what had happened. So she'd been mad at him for bailing on her - he was actually surprised, when he really considered it, that he hadn't gotten worse from her.

Jack figured she was going to be mad at him, but at the him from a few days earlier, the him that would be in the briefing who would stare at her the whole time and not understand why she wanted to talk. She'd forgiven him before she left - she hadn't been angry when she'd said goodbye to him, in fact, she'd seemed to know more about what was happening than he did. Which left him back to where he'd been only a few hours - wonderful hours - earlier. Looking for a way to waste a few more hours. He grinned to himself when he remember burning the last few - making love to Sam was definitely going down in the books as being the best time-waster ever. And once again, he was desperate to see her again, to apologize for leaving, to spend every moment of the rest of his life with her.

It occurred to him as he trudged along the streets, kicking at unsuspecting rocks and watching the sun come up, that he'd successfully managed a trip back in time and hadn't changed anything - even getting home early had been correct because that had happened the first time. At least, he knew the first time he'd done something that pissed her off and he hoped she'd still be willing to forgive him.

When Jack returned to the SGC, he got some strange looks for his non-regulation attire, but no one said anything. Well, no one said anything until he happened into the control room. Actually, they didn't say anything at first, but their silence spoke volumes. There were lots of confused faces staring at him, some with mouths hanging open. The sergeant who'd been trying to decipher Sam's instructions for his trip looked particularly scared.

Jack couldn't resist. "For the record, Sergeant, it was a seven." Then he smiled and approached Walter. Walter squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, probably expecting to get blamed for something. Jack wondered if he had any idea that they all just liked to tease him because he always tried to be so serious. Jack smiled at him too; smiling at people freaked them out. "Call up P7R whatever. Tell Colonel Carter that the mission is scrubbed and she has my permission to drag Daniel back here kicking and screaming if he resists." He looked around, noticing that no one had returned to working - they were all just standing there watching him. He turned back to Walter. "Is there a problem, Sergeant?"

Walter's eyes darted around desperately, looking for help. "Um, no, not really." He paused. "Actually, yes, I guess so." He sighed and his shoulders drooped. "We all just saw you go through the Stargate a second ago so, um, uh - well, where'd you come from, sir?"

Jack smiled smugly. He made a mental note to write up a memo warning people that they were going to see weird things and that they were never to stare at him for any reason. "That was a week ago. You saw me come back last night."

Walter nodded. "Hence the question about the date, sir."

"Exactly." He didn't need to mention that he'd learned an important lesson about listening to Carter. It was obvious to everyone. "I'll be in my office for a while." He returned to his cluttered desk, barely even registering the cacophony that accompanied his order to recall SG-1.

He sat back in his chair, propped his feet up on his desk, and sighed. He was happy. He was finally home, Sam would be back shortly so that he could apologize properly, nothing awful had happened as a result of his trip, and, at least as far as Jack could tell, all was right with the world. Especially his little corner of it. He grinned when he thought about Sam, about finally telling her that he loved her, about finally hearing the words back from her. He couldn't wait to see her.

Too giddy to sit still for long, he headed back to the control room. The silence that had greeted him on his previous visit was gone. The normal flurry of activity had returned, but there was an atypical urgency about it. He snagged one of the chairs and pulled it up to the terminals. "Walter? What's going on?"

Walter hung up the receiver he was holding. "I was just trying to call you, sir." He closed his eyes for a moment and Jack could practically hear his prayer for strength. "Apparently Dr. Jackson got tired of waiting and snuck into the ruins."

Jack nodded. He wasn't exactly surprised. Daniel had been particularly hot for the planet after all. "And?"

Walter winced. "And he got caught. The natives got upset and refused to let Colonel Carter apologize and, uh-"

"Walter?" His voice held a tone of warning. He knew there was something coming that he particularly didn't want to hear.

"They were attacking. When I spoke with Colonel Carter, there was already at a dead run for the gate."

Jack squeezed his eyes closed. The natives were not an advanced culture, so SG-1 had a good chance to get away. But although they had a technological advantage, Jack knew Sam wouldn't give the order to fire on the primitive people unless their lives were in danger. He had confidence in his team. He still had to ask. "Any injuries?"

"Not that I'm aware of, sir, however-" Walter looked away as the gate fired up.

"However?" It hadn't been his intention to sound angry, but it came out that way. And once he heard it, Jack realized he was angry - very angry, in fact, that there was a chance one of his close friends had been injured because he'd screwed up his mission to go there and negotiate.

Walter swallowed hard. "Colonel Carter stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. Teal'c only said to have a defense team standing by. That was all I got." Before Jack could say anything, Walter continued nervously. "I didn't want to tie up the gate, just in case they were trying to get through. I terminated the connection." Walter looked scared.

He knew he should assure Walter that he'd done the right thing, but he couldn't. He couldn't speak past the lump in his throat. He was afraid of what might have happened that would stop Sam from answering. Once again, he felt that twinge of guilt rise up, thinking that he should have been there with them. His eyes locked on the gate as Walter announced that SG-1's IDC had been received.

The defense team was lined up in front of the gate, waiting for trouble. There was a tense moment of silence after the iris opened. The arrows that followed caught everyone by surprise. Primitive as they were, the arrows posed little threat to the heavily armored team in the gate room; however, Jack knew his team wasn't equipped with the same shields. Not to mention that SG-1 wasn't battling with the natives - they were simply running from them. It was much harder to protect themselves from an enemy shooting at their backs, even if they were only shooting arrows.

A figure emerged from the gate amid the next wave of arrows. Daniel was ducking from the arrows as he kept his hands in the air - so as not to alarm the armed men before him. His eyes immediately searched for Jack and locked onto him as he spoke. "We need a medical team!"

Thankfully someone else grabbed the intercom and paged for them because Jack was too scared to move.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

_AN: I'm going to stop making predictions as to how long this will be. It just seems to keep growing... Thanks for the review everybody! Keep 'em coming!_

Chapter Thirteen

For the next few seconds, time seemed to stand still. Jack was terrified, more so than he'd been any time that he could remember. After what seemed an eternity, another wave of arrows flew into the gate room, followed by Teal'c. He carried Sam; her body hanging limply in his arms.

Jack's paralysis disappeared as he made up for lost time, flying down the stairs so quickly even he was shocked that he didn't break his neck. He arrived the same time as the medical team, so he forced himself to hang back while Teal'c laid her gently on the gurney. He chased them down the hall, trying to make sense of what they were saying. One thing was abundantly clear - there were arrows sticking out of places there shouldn't have been arrows sticking out of. One was protruding from her shoulder, reminding Jack of the time the very same thing had happened to him. There was another through her thigh and then there was the one jutting into her side, right smack dab in the one damn spot her protective vest didn't protect her. For primitives, they had unbelievable aim.

The one in her side was the main source of concern, especially due to the blood pouring out. It seemed to Jack that there was just too much blood. His heart pounded harder when he heard the word surgery. Then he heard something about internal bleeding and he nearly passed out. But as they turned the corner, he was able to see past one of the nurses. There was a flash of blue he couldn't miss - her eyes were open.

Their eyes locked and Jack surged forward, insinuating himself among the people who were responsible for helping her. He couldn't look away. He wanted to reassure her that she'd be ok, but he saw the pain in her eyes and he couldn't say anything. Something brushed his hand and he turned to see if he was in the way. Sam was reaching for him; her hand searching the air for his. He took a firm hold of it, squeezing it so hard he was sure he was hurting her. He didn't care who saw; he wasn't going to deny her what little comfort she sought. It was all he could do - telling her that he loved her was out of the question.

Her eyes started to drift closed, but she fought to keep them open. Dr. Brightman leaned forward to assure her that it was ok. She instructed Sam to close her eyes and let them work. Sam fought anyway, just a moment longer, before her eyes fluttered closed and stayed that way. Jack glared at the doctor, for the first time noticing the IV that had been inserted in Sam's arm.

Dr. Brightman smiled gently, obviously noticing their joined hands and saying nothing. "We need to get her into surgery right away. I'm surprised she was conscious as long as she was."

Jack reminded himself that as long as Sam was sleeping then Sam wasn't hurting. That made him feel a little better. "She's going to be ok, right?"

Dr. Brightman looked away. "I won't know how much damage was done internally until we get in there." She tried to smile. "She's strong, sir."

He'd never missed Janet so badly as he did at that moment, watching Sam being wheeled away from him. It wasn't that he didn't trust Dr. Brightman, it was just that he'd trusted Janet so much more. Jack dropped into a chair in the hallway. He knew he should think of other concerns - he was in charge of the whole base. But he couldn't. His attention had developed tunnel vision and could only focus on Sam. He realized that was probably why a CO wasn't supposed to sleep with someone in his command.

He had no idea how much time had elapsed before he realized his friends had joined him. Teal'c was sitting to his left, silently offering his support. He hadn't even changed out of the clothes he'd been wearing, the ones that had more than enough of Sam's blood on them to remind Jack how badly Sam was injured. Daniel was cowering across the hall, staring at Jack with a pained, guilty expression.

Jack's eyes locked with Daniel's. Rage built up so suddenly Jack was barely able to control it. He wanted to scream at Daniel; he wanted to hit him. It was all Daniel's fault. If he'd just waited, Sam never would have gotten hurt. Jack's hands clenched into fists as he stared, trying to convince himself he wouldn't feel any better if he broke the younger man's jaw.

Daniel knew Jack was furious. "I'm sorry, Jack. I never thought something like this would happen. I never thought Sam would get hurt."

Jack leaned forward, but remained sitting down in the hopes that he wouldn't actually hit Daniel if he couldn't reach Daniel. "What did you think would happen? Did you think at all?"

Daniel broke eye contact and stared at the dirty concrete floor. "I thought if they got mad at anyone it would be at me."

Jack jumped up, unable to contain it anymore. He grabbed Daniel's collar and shoved him into the wall. "And you thought she would leave you behind? Do you think she would ever leave either of you behind?"

Fear showed in Daniel's eyes. He knew he didn't stand a chance in a fight against Jack. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I never wanted her to get hurt. I'd trade places with her if I could."

"But you can't."

"No, I can't. I wish I could."

Jack released him. "Get the hell away from me." He slumped back down in his chair, not saying anything when Daniel did the same. Jack's fury was spent and the fear was creeping back in. He felt bad for attacking Daniel, but it would be a long time before he found the words to apologize. He knew Daniel felt bad enough. He knew Daniel was already blaming himself. His words hadn't helped any and Sam wouldn't appreciate him going after Daniel. He looked up and found Daniel staring at him. He tried to say something, but only succeeded in opening and closing his mouth.

Daniel nodded. "I know, Jack. You're worried about her." He winced, as if mentally berating himself for the situation, or perhaps for mentioning Jack's technically inappropriate feeling for Sam. "I am too. We all are."

The sound of high heels interrupted the conversation. All three men looked up expectantly. It was one of the nurses, a young girl probably fresh out of nursing school who had no idea what she was getting herself into when she was assigned to the SGC. She cautiously approached Jack, keeping a safe distance from him. "Sir?"

Jack was on his feet in a second, moving so quickly in front of her that she jumped backwards. "How is she?"

The girl drew in a nervous breath. "Colonel Carter is out of surgery. The damage wasn't as severe as Dr. Brightman had originally feared. The colonel is going to be out of commission for a while until she recovers, but she should be good as new."

Jack almost hugged her. He settled on grinning stupidly at her. "When can we see her?"

"She hasn't woken up yet from the anesthesia. The doctor asked me to give you an update as soon as possible. Colonel Carter will probably sleep for several hours. I'll make sure you get a call as soon as she's awake."

"There's no chance we could just see her for a second?" He knew he was skating on giving himself away, so he quickly found an excuse. "Carter's going to be very angry with Daniel here when she wakes up, so he kind of wanted to see her while she's still unconscious, you know, so she can't strangle him."

The nurse smiled a decidedly confused smile. "Um, I can check." She had started to walk away before she thought better of her answer and remembered that she was talking to a general. "Actually, I'm sure that won't be a problem. I'll come get you as soon as she's situated."

"Subtle, Jack. Real subtle." Daniel's cocky, omnipotent grin was back. He figured he was out of the woods since Sam was going to be ok.

Jack glared at him. "She doesn't know the difference."

Daniel's grin grew even wider at Jack's complete lack of denial. "But the rest of us do."

Jack sat back down in his seat. Teal'c's barely suppressed smile didn't escape his notice. In fact, Daniel and Teal'c seemed to be quite amused by something that wasn't immediately obvious to Jack. He didn't like the idea. "What?"

Daniel looked down, leaving Teal'c to respond. "You did not deny that you wanted to see Colonel Carter for reasons other than those that you told the nurse."

"Of course I want to see her. You guys do too or you wouldn't be sitting here." He resisted the urge to add 'so there' on the end of his words, but just barely.

Teal'c smiled, an expression that unnerved Jack on his best day. "I would have waited until morning when Colonel Carter might be awake."

Jack snarled, more at himself than at Teal'c. "Me too."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "But you did not." Daniel snickered.

"So?" Jack squeezed his eyes closed and vowed to come up with better comebacks than the ones he'd relied on since childhood.

"You were also very distracted this morning during Daniel Jackson's briefing." Teal'c's eyes were staring straight ahead and the smile had disappeared, but Jack was certain he was smirking in some secret Jaffa way.

Daniel piped in, unable to stay out of it. "As far as I could tell you were distracted by Sam through the entire briefing this morning."

They were ganging up on him. It was so not fair when Sam wasn't there to take his side. "That briefing was so boring I could have been distracted by anything. It just so happened that Sam was right in front of me."

Teal'c grinned again while Daniel snorted. "Sam? Since when is she Sam?"

Jack wanted to slap himself in the forehead. He was such a moron sometimes. He decided to do damage control and deflect the conversation. "Teal'c was sleeping."

"I was only doing so until you woke me."

Jack had hoped that Daniel would jump on Teal'c's admission and leave his staring at Sam alone. Unfortunately, Daniel wasn't done.

"And then there was the matter of the hickey."

Jack was so dumbfounded he didn't say a word. He stared at Daniel with his mouth hanging open for several minutes, irritated by the gleam in Daniel's eyes. Finally, he forced out a word. "What?"

"Daniel Jackson, I am not familiar with that term. What is a hickey?"

Daniel laughed. "That big purple mark on Sam's neck. That's a hickey."

Jack closed his eyes and made a mental note that Sam had very fair skin and apparently bruised easily. But then he smiled, thinking about what he'd be doing when he would need that information.

Teal'c was too perplexed by the idea of a hickey to notice Jack's horror. "I do not understand. I believed they were called bruises. And how would a bruise relate to the subject at hand?"

"There's a difference between a bruise and a hickey."

Jack snorted and decided it was time for a walk. As much fun as listening to Daniel's explanation would be, he knew it would be far more embarrassing for him than it needed to be. The last thing he heard clearly was Daniel saying that Jack had given it to her and Teal'c's confusion as to why Jack would injure Sam.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_AN: The end is coming... eventually. But this isn't it! Keep those reviews coming. They make my day!_

Chapter Fourteen

Jack didn't go too far. He didn't want to miss when the nurse came back to get him, regardless of any good natured ribbing he might get. He settled on waiting around the corner. While he couldn't hear what was said between his friends, he'd be able to hear if the door opened. He would have been fine to hide there as long as he needed had Sergeant Siler not walked past and offered him a loud greeting.

Jack growled as he walked back to where Daniel and Teal'c were sitting. If he stayed there, they would know that he'd been hiding the whole time. Somehow that was just too embarrassing. Not that Daniel's and Teal'c's smirks were any less so. Jack reclaimed his seat beside Teal'c.

"On Chulak it is customary to congratulate a warrior who has picked a mate. Is that the custom here as well?"

Daniel cracked up laughing. Even Jack snickered at the idea of anyone having picked Sam. "It's really more like she picked me." From the first moment he'd laid eyes on Sam, he'd been completely off balance. Of course, he finally knew that she'd had a ten year head start on figuring their relationship out.

"Then perhaps I should offer my congratulations to Colonel Carter."

Daniel laughed harder; his face turning red. Jack didn't blame him. In fact, he joined in laughing. "You might want to rethink that. I'm not really much of a prize."

Teal'c smiled slightly, ignoring his friends' hilarity. "I believe Colonel Carter thinks otherwise."

Jack's laughter stopped. As always, Teal'c had made a completely accurate observation that stunned Jack with its clarity. He started to smile out of sheer happiness. If Sam wanted to think that he was a great catch, he wasn't about to stop her. He liked the idea that she thought he was great. "Look, T, it's probably better if you don't mention anything to her. She'll think I told you guys and then she'll get mad at me."

Teal'c nodded, accepting Jack's request without question. Daniel rolled his eyes and Jack knew he was going to pull the same crap with Sam until she admitted it as well. Sometimes Daniel was just a little too interested in other people's business for Jack's taste.

"So, Jack, about today - what happened? You were coming and then you never showed up. Why did you change your mind?"

Jack sighed and stared at the door to the infirmary, willing the nurse to step through. Unfortunately, his powers of telepathy were nonexistent. "You mentioned something earlier about wanting to trade places with Sam."

Daniel nodded. "I'd go back and change it in a second if I could."

Jack smiled. "I figured you'd say that. You probably could go back and change it, but I wouldn't recommend it."

Daniel looked to Teal'c as though he might have a better understanding of what Jack was trying to say. Surprisingly, he did. "Colonel Carter did mention increased solar flare activity. That is why the mission was delayed this morning."

"I just spent a week in 1987. Trust me, you're better off not changing things." Just thinking about all that history altering, life changing stuff threatened to bring his headache back.

Teal'c's head turned sharply toward him, evidently he hadn't considered that the solar flares had anything to do with Jack's absence from the mission. Daniel's mouth dropped open. Teal'c was the first to recover. "O'Neill, did you experience temporal distortion when you attempted to travel through the gate?" Daniel continued to gape, uncharacteristically rendered silent by the conversation.

Jack grinned. "Sam was really cute at eighteen."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "I'll bet she was." He continued to look perplexed for some time before something clicked. "That's probably why she wasn't at all concerned when you didn't step through. We were standing there, waiting for you. The wormhole activated and then just disappeared. Teal'c and I thought something bad had happened, but Sam just walked away. And she was smiling too - that was kind of freaky. I couldn't figure out why she was so calm. She's usually so protective of you."

Jack couldn't keep the smile off his face thinking about Sam being protective of him. "Fond memories of meeting her idiot CO, I guess."

Teal'c looked confused. "Colonel Carter has known for some time that you would alter the natural course of events."

"After all that bitching about the timeline too."

Teal'c ignored Jack's comment and continued with his original train of thought. "Perhaps her knowledge that you would someday be a general is the reason she never despaired during dangerous missions."

"And here I just thought she was unflappable." Jack pondered Teal'c's words. It did make sense - she had to have known they would survive all those harrowing ordeals they'd been in through the years. But then he realized she'd probably spent the entire time fearing that something had altered along the way too.

Daniel grinned, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Jack. "So you met an eighteen-year-old Sam, huh?" He chuckled to himself. "I'm not sure which one of you would be in more danger."

Teal'c turned toward Jack. "I do not imagine Colonel Carter would be much different at any age."

"So, Jack, what was she like?"

Jack smiled, thinking about her. "Young. Innocent." He paused. "Hot." He shrugged. "Not the Sam we know. I didn't even recognize her the first time I saw her."

Daniel forehead creased with concentration. "How is that possible? You'd know her anywhere."

Jack shrugged. "She was different. Naïve, unsure of herself. She was like a fish out of water at the Air Force Academy."

"I am not familiar with that expression. Did Colonel Carter have difficulty breathing?" Teal'c looked concerned.

Daniel answered him quickly, wanting to get the rest of the story from Jack. "It means she was unsure of herself, uncomfortable with her surroundings."

"It is hard to imagine Colonel Carter without confidence."

"That's what I thought, T. She was going to quit the Air Force."

Daniel's eyes glazed over for a second as his mind filtered through the ramifications of what Jack was saying. "So, in those other realities, you weren't there to convince her to stay in. So she did quit."

Jack nodded. "Hence the destruction of the world several times over."

Teal'c nodded as well. "Colonel Carter did not want to take credit for it, but I believe it was her participation in the Air Force that has yielded many of the changes we observed between our realities and the others. I must thank her for my freedom when she awakens."

"I doubt she'd take credit for that, Teal'c. You had something to do with it." Daniel pointed at Jack. "And since it was Jack who convinced her to stay in, maybe you should thank him instead."

Jack patted Teal'c shoulder. "Think nothing of it, buddy."

Teal'c nodded once. "I am indebted to you once again, O'Neill. Perhaps I will repay you by not telling anyone that you caused the injury to Colonel Carter's neck."

"Gee, thanks so much T."

It was a very red faced nurse who cleared her throat in an attempt to politely interrupt before she heard anymore. Although she was amused by the situation, Jack knew she didn't want to be there. Jack commiserated with her because he didn't particularly want to be there himself.

"Um, sir? Dr. Brightman said you can have a few minutes now."

Covering his embarrassment with false bravado, he stood up. "Let's go, kids."

The nurse let them to a curtained off section of the infirmary. She disappeared soon after and Jack wondered how fast the rumors were going to spread. He imagined the rumor mill would be in full swing by the time Sam woke up. With the wide neckline of the hospital gown, the hickey stood out prominently against her flawless skin. Jack cringed - he knew how embarrassed Sam would be if she knew and he felt responsible. Especially since everyone on the base would know who had given it to her.

Jack hung back while Daniel walked right up to her side. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, gently taking her hand in his and telling her that he couldn't wait until she was awake to yell at him. Jack was jealous. Daniel was comfortable with his place in her life. Jack, on the other hand, didn't know what to do with himself. He hadn't talked to her since the previous night when she fell asleep tucked safely in his arms. There had been a few brief moments with her before surgery, but it wasn't what Jack would consider quality time. He stood back, letting his eyes drink in the sight of her. She was alive - that was all he cared about. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest and listened to the reassuring sounds of the monitors around her.

Daniel and Teal'c left a moment later, allowing Jack some privacy. But there were still members of the medical staff milling around, measuring and recording and just basically not letting him be alone with her. He wanted to kiss her like Daniel had; he wanted to take her hand again. Unfortunately, once the immediate crisis had passed, he realized how inappropriate his actions had been. No one had noticed, except for Dr. Brightman, and she hadn't particularly cared, but he didn't think he should push his luck. He didn't want to get Sam in trouble. She'd already had a bad enough day.

Dr. Brightman appeared to check on Sam. She waited for Jack to look up, but he didn't until she started talking. "Sir, I'm going to need to check on her incision. I want to make sure the bleeding has stopped completely."

Jack shook himself. He'd wasted the few minutes he'd had with her. He was still standing at the foot of her bed, further away than even Teal'c had stood, never having decided what the least obvious way to touch her was. Under normal circumstances, he would have insisted on staying and generally made a pest of himself until she woke up and sent him packing. But it wasn't a normal circumstance and he didn't want to call any attention to the painfully recent change in their relationship. He nodded instead.

"I have a lot of work to do, so I'll be on base all night. Can you give me a call when she wakes up?" He tried to sound detached, but he didn't think he was fooling her.

The doctor smiled. "Yes, sir. You'll be the first to know."

He almost thanked her out loud for not mentioning his paper thin logic for staying on base. "Keep up the good work." With a final glance at Sam, Jack left the room before he could change his mind.

Daniel and Teal'c were waiting for him in the hall. Daniel smiled at him. "She's going to be all right, Jack."

"I know." He found himself looking longingly at the door to the infirmary and wanted to kick himself for such a foolish gesture. "You guys should get some rest. You haven't had an easy day either. And Teal'c," Jack motioned at his stained BDUs. "You really ought to get changed." He knew his friends would be on base all night too, just in case. None of them wanted to be far away when she woke up.

Teal'c left for the locker room with a final nod to Jack. Daniel walked with Jack toward his office. "There was one thing I was wondering."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Of course there was." He didn't mean to be rude, but the emotional roller coaster he'd been on in the previous few hours had just caught up with him and he wanted nothing more than to take a nap. He considered a shower momentarily. And food appealed to him as well. Having a philosophical conversation with Daniel didn't figure in anywhere on the list. Nope, sleep was definitely priority number one. Jack dropped into his chair and began clearing a spot amid the piles where he could lay his head for his nap.

Daniel leaned in the doorway, looking like he was pondering the mysteries of the cosmos. "How'd you get home? From 1987."

Jack blinked at him, already half asleep and wondering for just a moment what Daniel was talking about. Then he remembered and smiled. "Sam wrote herself a note."

"Guess she knew you'd need her help." Daniel seemed amused at the idea that even a teenage Sam was smarter than Jack.

Jack would have been offended if he'd noticed. "I'd like to see you figure that time travel stuff out on your own."

Daniel cocked his head to the side, more interested in the dilemma than in Jack's attitude. "Which begs the question - how did she know when to give it to you?"

Jack looked around the office, checking if maybe Sam had left him a note to explain it all. Finally he shrugged. "I'll have to ask her that." Jack didn't wait for a response before dropping his face forward into his arms. He was asleep before Daniel was even able to close the door behind him.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

_AN: Ok, I'm fairly certain there will only be one more part, but no promises! Someone asked about how much was written - the entire plot is written out, but sometimes connections between scenes go a little differently than I imagined. Hope you guys are still enjoying this!_

Chapter Fifteen

The next thing Jack knew, he was being chased by the galaxy's largest bee. It was almost as big as him, putting those things that had stung Teal'c to shame. It had a huge stinger that Jack knew would kill him, so he kept running. He tripped, sprawling hard on the ground. As the bee prepared to sting him, it began to buzz - an altogether horrible, annoying, intermittent buzz. The bee stopped buzzing and Jack realized it was wearing an SG uniform. Before Jack could quite figure out why the bee was wearing clothes at all, let alone an SG uniform,he discovered there were two bees - and they were both in SG uniforms. They both began to buzz in the same irritating fashion. It also seemed that they knew how to throw their voices because their buzzing wasn't coming from their direction. Then they both began wailing an alarm as well.

Jack's eyes popped open, darting wildly about the room. All the bells and whistles were going off that accompanied the activation of the Stargate, including the scheduled return of one of the teams that Jack couldn't summon up the energy to care about. Daniel and Teal'c were just inside his office door and looked rather smug. Jack's phone was buzzing incessantly. He glowered at it and solemnly vowed to never go to bed without eating ever again.

Daniel spoke up once he realized Jack was really awake. "Dr. Brightman's been trying to call you for an hour."

Jack jumped up from his chair as reality dawned on him. "Sam's awake?"

Teal'c nodded. "We though to postpone our visit until after you were able to visit."

Jack darted past them, nearly knocking Daniel down in his haste. He couldn't believe he'd slept through the doctor's call. He didn't want Sam to think he didn't want to see her. And she was cooped up in the infirmary with nothing to do besides wonder why none of her friends could be bothered to visit.

He dashed through the halls; paying no attention to the airmen he tore past on his way. He didn't care what people thought at the moment. He just wanted to get to her. He flew past the nurses in the infirmary, barely skidding to a halt when he reached her bedside.

Sam had been sleeping, but her eyes blinked open when she heard the commotion preceding Jack's arrival. She smiled at him and the spectacle he made of himself.

Jack grinned, too happy to care that she saw how needy he could be. "Hey."

"Hey."

He pulled a chair over next to her bed. "So."

Sam looked away. "So."

Jack looked around to make sure no one was looking. Most of the staff he'd had to shove past had disappeared. He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together. "This probably isn't the time or the place, but we should talk." He was afraid to make eye contact with her as he spoke, but he didn't miss the hurt on her face.

Her hand loosened from his and she tried to pull it away. He didn't let her. She fixed her eyes on a point on the far wall. "It's ok. I understand, sir."

"No, you obviously don't."

"Sir?" She glanced at him, but immediately looked away again.

"If you're back to calling me sir, then you can't possibly understand." He took another peek around the infirmary. He'd never seen it so empty. He decided to take his chances. He stood up and leaned over her, kissing her soundly on the mouth. When he sat back down, she was beyond flustered. He smiled as she tried to process it.

"I thought you wanted out."

He squeezed her hand. "I barely got in. Why would I want out?" He gave her a minute, not surprised when she didn't speak. "I just meant we should talk about how I'm going to keep my hands off you when other people are around."

She giggled. "Maybe that's a conversation best reserved for somewhere besides here."

"You're probably right." He glanced around yet again, spying a nurse who appeared to be completely out of earshot. "This is something that definitely should wait until we're alone too, but you deserve to hear it now. I'm sorry about this morning."

"It's ok." Her expression gave away that she didn't really feel it.

"It's not ok. You were mad. Not that I blame you." His reasoning for bailing on her seemed ridiculous when it came down to actually explaining it to her.

"I wasn't mad once I figured out why you were pretending not to know anything about it."

"Because I didn't." He began to realize that she was hurt because she would have liked it to be different, but not particularly hurt by him.

Sam giggled. "Well, I know that now."

"I'm really sorry. I want you to know that. But I had to leave because you were supposed to get mad at me. At least, you did the first time. Well, I think you did the first time, but I wouldn't really remember it now if you hadn't been, right? I'd only remember how it ended up." Jack's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You should have come with me to make sure I didn't screw anything up. You could have gotten us back home without any trouble and I wouldn't have had to interfere in your life."

Sam squeezed his hand. "That's the last thing I would ever want to change, Jack." She smiled up at him, her eyes revealing that same unadulterated love he'd seen from her younger self.

He smiled, even though he wondered how she could love him so much. If there was one thing he'd learned through the years, it was that he wasn't good enough for her. He couldn't even compare to her, although she seemed to think he was worthy. "Are you sure?"

"I've had eighteen years to think about it."

He couldn't keep the smug, self-satisfied grin off his face. "Then we'll have that talk as soon as you get out of here. Why don't you get some rest now?" Jack stood up to leave, loathe to separate their hands. Sam didn't let him go; she tugged on his hand until he sat back down.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Her entreaty struck him with its vulnerability. He simply nodded, too choked up to be able to respond. Jack waited at her side long after her breathing evened out. Every moment he was with her smoothed over more of the scars that life had given him. He needed her. He'd never really needed anyone in his entire life, but he needed her. The thought probably would have been more alarming had he not known that she needed him just as much.

He would have happily stayed with her all day, but he had work to do. And he was quickly becoming obsessed with not doing anything that might reflect badly on her. He forced himself to return to his office and finish up on the pressing things he'd been ignoring for too long. Once he caught up - well, caught up for Jack meant only a few weeks late for anyone else, he made himself stop by the control room. He checked to make sure everything was running smoothly. He sat through two briefings with other SG teams and even called Daniel and Teal'c into the conference room to officially debrief SG-1. A quick visit to the armory, the commissary, and the labs completed his work quota for the day. He even let Daniel persuade him to have a late lunch since it had been far too long since he'd eaten.

Returning to the infirmary, he found Sam was awake. He didn't approach her right away. He stood back, watching her play with the food-like substance she'd been given. He couldn't identify it from where he stood, although he knew being closer wouldn't have helped any. Whatever it was, she was stabbing it with her fork, holding it up for closer inspection, poking at it with her knife, and then flinging it back down on her plate. She did it methodically to several pieces in a row. She looked sickened by it, yet somehow fascinated. Jack imagined it was making her crazy that she couldn't take it to her lab to study it.

Finally he decided to spare her from pretending to eat anymore. He walked up and sat on the edge of her bed on the opposite side of her tray. "Not hungry for the mystery meat special?"

She made a face and dropped her fork one final time. "I'm not sure whether it had fur in it or has grown fur, but either way, I'm not about to ingest it."

"You know, I just ate." He suddenly wasn't feeling so well.

"Lucky you, sir. I'm starving."

Jack smiled widely, promptly pulling his hand out from behind his back and revealing a slice of peach pie and two forks. "If you see any fur in this, you forfeit your half."

"Not a word, I swear." Sam's eyes were trained hungrily on the pie. Jack was fairly certain she'd attack him if he tried to take it away.

Placing the pie on the tray between them, Jack handed over the extra fork. "Before you ask, there was no cake."

They shared the pie in companionable silence. Jack had scraped the last bit off the plate and was about to put it in his mouth when his eyes fell on the hickey. His movements stopped abruptly; his mind was too busy trying to tamp down his desperate urge to give her another one to finish eating.

"Admiring your handiwork, sir?"

His eyes snapped up to meet hers, seeing a devilish gleam in them that he'd never seen before. He winked at her. "Actually, I'm just trying to stop myself from giving you several more right now."

She blushed and looked down, not realizing that her uncharacteristic shyness did nothing to dissuade him. "Not until I'm several days away from having to see Daniel." She shook her head. "I tell you, he's worse than my dad ever was."

Jack snickered at the mental image of Jacob inspecting Sam's neck for hickeys. "So Daniel and Teal'c already talked to you."

"We're going to have to have a little chat about keeping secrets." She tried to look disappointed, but it was hard with her smile.

Jack rolled his eyes. "They already knew."

"How?"

"Maybe they went back in time." Jack tried his best to look pathetic. "They really did already know. I only confirmed it. Accidentally."

"How did you confirm it accidentally?"

"I referred to you as Sam and you know Daniel didn't miss that." Jack shrugged. "That and the hickey..."

Sam shook her head. "Sometimes that man is just too smart for his own good."

"Tell me about it." Jack pushed the dinner tray away and shifted closer to her. "Of course the fact that I was sleep-deprived and very worried and hadn't eaten might have contributed."

Sam started to reply, but her words were cut off by a yawn. She rubbed her eyes. "I never imagined I'd ever need this much sleep."

Jack couldn't resist. He spoke softly to avoid being overheard. "Better rest up. Once you get sprung from here, you're not going to be getting much sleep."

"One of these days, you're going to be here when I wake up."

"If you promise to tell me how you knew when to give me that note, I'll promise to be here when you wake up."

Sam smiled sleepily at him as her eyes closed. "You've got a deal, sir."

Jack leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Jack." He moved off the bed and into the chair he'd been in earlier, watching as Sam fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

_AN: Ok, guys, this is it! Thanks for being so patient with me. I've already got notes for my next story, so hopefully you guys will like that one as much!_

Chapter Sixteen

Three days later, Sam was finally allowed to leave the infirmary. She'd been a terrible patient, nagging and whining and complaining until several toys from her lab were brought in for her. On the third day, Dr. Brightman couldn't take it anymore. Sam was sent home and told to stay there until she was fully healed. Jack personally saw to it that she went home and stole her car keys to make sure she stayed there. He promised to return after he finished work for the day. He knew she was mad and bored out of her skull, but he knew she wouldn't try to get back to work on one crutch. If she'd had two crutches even, Jack knew she'd try - two crutches would mean she didn't have to bear any weight on her injured leg. Luckily, the wound to her shoulder prevented the use of a second crutch.

Being the boss had its privileges. Jack smuggled several more things out of Sam's lab - things he was reasonably sure wouldn't cause any harm - and took them to Sam's house. She actually squealed with delight when she saw them, but Jack refused to turn them over.

"You haven't held up your end of the bargain." He sat on the side of her bed, finally free to kiss her without having to check if someone was watching. He took full advantage of the opportunity.

Sam's eyes remained closed after he pulled away. A soft smile played across her lips. "I thought you'd never get here."

He couldn't resist leaning in for another kiss, not with the way she enjoyed the first. "So, how'd you know?"

Her eyes snapped open. "Know what?"

Jack chuckled. As mean as it was, he almost liked Sam better on painkillers. The meds made her as easy to confuse as he normally was. "How'd you know when to give me the note?" Sam had been dodging the question for days and not knowing was driving Jack nuts.

Seeing no possible escape, Sam shrugged. "Well, you told me it was eighteen years, so that narrowed it down considerably."

"Which left only three hundred and sixty-five choices."

Sam flushed. "It's not really something I can explain."

"Try me." He crawled up onto the bed and put his arm around her shoulders, careful not to disturb her wounds.

She nestled her head against his chest. "Well, that day-"

"Which day?"

Sam hesitated, which only made Jack more curious. When she spoke, it all came out in one mumbled word. "ThedaythatyousaidIwasthemostbeautifulwomanyou'deverseen."

Jack grinned and kissed the top of her head. He could tell she was nervous to bring it up, probably wondering if it was still true. He realized that was the reason she'd been avoiding the conversation. "Sam, it was only a week ago."

"Yeah, so?" She was so anxious that she missed his point.

"So you're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

She glanced up at him; her brow furrowed in thought. "Really?"

Jack nodded and kissed her again. "Really."

Apparently, it was exactly what she'd wanted to hear. "Well, when you said it, you had this look in your eyes - like you wanted me to hear something else. Something you weren't saying."

Her assessment of his stare had been dead on. It was almost frightening that she'd been able to read him so well even when she barely knew him. He knew she'd spent years analyzing it. "Don't tell me that look hasn't been there for years." He'd wanted to confess his feelings for her forever. It just hadn't ever seemed like the right time; he'd never really been sure it was worth risking their working relationship for something he'd always feared wasn't equally returned.

"It wasn't. Not like that." She snuggled into him. His arm reflexively tightened around her. "Believe me, I was looking for it." She snickered to herself. "I spent years thinking I'd imagined the whole thing. Then once I met you, I spent years thinking I'd imagined that look, even though you had that other one - that one that makes me think I'm going to melt."

"And here I thought I was being subtle." He wondered if it had always been so obvious. He hated to think all those rumors over the years had been his fault.

"It was the only thing that kept me from thinking I was completely insane." She reached up and took his hand. "I kept waiting for you to look at me the way you did back then. That night you showed up at my door, it was there. Then the next morning, it was gone."

"No wonder you were mad." Jack was surprised she hadn't inflicted serious damage on him.

"I was until we were in your office and I looked at you and saw how confused you were. You had no idea what I was talking about. Then I knew you'd gotten back too early. There were two of you running around and only one of you had your head screwed on straight."

"Yeah, it took a trip back in time for me to pry my head out of my ass."

Sam laughed. "That's such an eloquent way to put it."

"Somehow I'd expected a much more scientific answer."

"Of course, the fact that the solar flare activity was way off the charts for the first time in years helped too."

"Oh, well, that's much better." Jack was quiet for a minute while he pondered what she'd told him. "So what were you writing in that briefing? I thought you were working on that note you gave me."

She shook her head. "Nope. I was thinking of refinancing my mortgage and I was trying to figure out which would save me more money in the long run."

Jack started to laugh. There he'd been, thinking she was working on some important futuristic, fate of the world stuff. "So I guess you were right about Daniel not knowing physics equations if he tripped over them."

"You guys think you know me so well. I'm not always doing work, you know."

"Yet somehow it still looks like work. You'll have to teach me how to pull that off."

"Can I ask you something, Jack?"

"I think you just did."

"I'll take that as a yes." She grinned up at him. "What were you thinking? When you looked at me that day. It was so intense and I've been wondering for almost twenty years."

Jack smiled at her and began pressing a series of kisses everywhere on her face that he could reach. "I was thinking you shouldn't have to wait anymore."

"Well, I did wait all those years."

"Exactly." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.

She smiled for a moment before her expression turned serious. "What are we going to do? This wasn't exactly well thought out."

Jack sat up, abruptly moving away from her. Sam stared at him, fear and hurt emanating from her face. He wanted to stay close and cuddle with her, but he thought it would be best if he stayed out of reach when he said what he needed to. While she'd been recovering, he'd been thinking. Unfortunately, he wasn't particularly pleased with what he'd figured out. He was hunched over, sitting on the edge of her bed with his face in his hands. He couldn't look at her.

"Jack?"

He reached for her hand, clutching it tightly in his. "I talked to Hammond."

Sam pulled her hand away, folding her arms across her chest. "And he told you to break it off. Of course he did."

"Of course he didn't. He was surprised it took as long as it did." His heart broke when he peeked over at her. She was trying as hard as she could not to cry, but she couldn't stop the tears that had begun to spill out. "Sam, stop, it's ok." He reached out again, lacing his fingers through hers. "He suggested a solution. It's just not exactly what I was hoping for."

She met his eyes, not even bothering to wipe at her tears. "What did he say?"

Letting go of her hand, he touched her face and gently wiped away her tears. "He's retiring."

"How is that supposed to help?" She pulled away from him once again, angrily rubbing at her eyes. He knew she was mad at herself for being unable to hide her emotional response, but he could hardly blame her. She thought she was going to lose him after only just getting him.

He winced at the thought of his next words. It wasn't what he wanted at all, but it would buy them some time. "When he retires in a few weeks, he's going to highly recommend that I replace him, which would mean I won't be your CO anymore."

She stared straight into his eyes and he saw the wheels turning. Unfortunately, he also saw when they ground to a halt and she closed her eyes against another wave of tears. "Which means you'll be in DC."

He leaned forward, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. He spoke softly, wanting to reassure her even though he was the one pulling the rug out from under her. "It's not that far, baby."

"It's only two thousand miles, no big deal, right?"

"It's not going to be permanent, Sam. It's just for now."

She shook her head and met his eyes resolutely. "I can't do this. We'll never see each other." She struggled to sit up, so determined to get away from him that she momentarily forgot her injures. "It was a mistake. A huge mistake. We should have known better."

She barely made it to her feet before the pain was too strong for her muscles. Jack caught her easily as she collapsed back against him. "Sam, stop."

She shook her head again, so hard it seemed she was trying to dry her tears. "Look, you don't have to go to DC. Let's just pretend nothing happened. It won't interfere at work. It never has before."

He held her close, knowing she wasn't healed enough to fight her way free of his embrace. "It's only going to be a few months, Sam. Then I can retire and come back and we can get married and everything will be fine. A couple months, Sam. Four kids from now and you won't even remember it."

Sam stopped struggling and remained motionless in his arms for several minutes. Her head turned slightly toward him. "Married?"

"Unless you need more time to think about it."

She turned to meet his eyes again. "I've had twenty God-damned years to think about it, Jack."

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "Was that a yes?"

Her face broke into a wide smile. "We're going to have to discuss those four kids though."

"What? You want more?"

"Something tells me I'll have my hands full with you."

"So was that a yes?"

Sam grinned and kissed him on the lips. "Yes."

"To the kids or the marriage?"

"Jack?" She stopped to kiss him again.

"Yes, Sam?"

"I love you. Now shut up." Then she kissed him again.

It was all the answer he needed.


End file.
